A Dire Situation
by perscribo
Summary: Brennan and Booth find themselves caught in an unexpected and dangerous situation. Will anyone get to them in time? Or would they get themselves out of it? Chapter 14 up.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones

 _ **Set some time after the show's finale, our fave couple in a dire situation.**_

"So we've made the news again," Booth said as he slid into the driver's side of his SUV.

"So we have." Brennan smiled, grinning back at her husband.

"Highest solve rate in the country baby!" Booth held up his hand and Brennan gave him a high-five.

"But that's not why we should be happy."

"You're right," Booth replied as he pulled out of their driveway and onto the street. It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning. The clear blue sky was filled with fluffy white clouds and the road Booth was driving down devoid of traffic, the entire setting picturesque, as if straight from a painting. The children were spending the day with Angela and the couple had decided to pack a picnic to the nearby park to spend some time together. "It's because of the Naomi Matterson case."

"Yes. Identifying her remains in limbo and giving her family closure after twenty years is very fulfilling."

"I'm glad we got to close a cold case. We don't do that often enough."

"I just wish the press didn't pick up on that. Now the whole world knows we solved the case and her family won't be able to process their grief in private. The news article should have been confined to our solve rate and not throw attention onto the Matterson family."

"You're definitely right about that Bones."

They drove past Mrs Duncan walking her dog. Booth offered a the older woman a small wave. "Looks like we aren't the only ones out this early huh?"

"Mrs Duncan's daily morning walks are beneficial in keeping arthritis at bay. Important for someone her age."

As Booth made a turn down the still deserted street, they saw a blue van parked ahead. An elderly man was hunched next to its right rear tire, visibly struggling to change what appeared to be a flat tire.

"We should stop to see if he needs help Booth," Brennan said as the SUV neared.

"My thoughts exactly Bones," Booth replied as he pulled up behind the van, killing the SUV's engine. "You wait here, I'll go see if the old guy needs some help."

Booth got out of the SUV and approached the man. "Need a hand?"

Before Booth could react, the man rose to his feet in a surprisingly quick motion. The first thing Booth noticed was that the man's face betrayed his age. It was youthful, rather than marked with wrinkles as he was expecting. His grey-haired appearance was clearly fake. Almost simultaneously, Booth realised that the man had a gun aimed at him. It was at waist level, so Booth was certain Brennan wasn't aware of what was happening.

"Whoa, okay pal, what do you want? You trying to rob us or something?"

"No." The man replied.

"Okay." Booth had to think quickly. He knew that identifying himself as a law enforcement professional tended to make matters worse, so he decided not to reveal the fact yet. If this wasn't a robbery, then it had to be some kidnapping or perhaps someone trying to get back at him for putting them away. Whatever the reason, he hoped Brennan would stay in the car.

"Whatever it is we can talk this through."

Behind him, he heard the car door slam. Booth cursed under his breath. He knew Brennan had to be approaching, wondering what was wrong. He had to warn her somehow.

"Is everything okay Booth?" He heard her concerned voice. Booth spun round, quickly urging her back to the relative safety of their car.

"Yeah, we're just talking. Why don't you go back to the car Bones?"

Before she could reply, the two rear doors of the van swung open and another man with a baseball cap pulled low over his face, jumped out. The man held up a gun, then quickly grabbed Brennan's upper arm, pulling her towards him. He pressed the gun into Brennan's back.

"Whoa, okay, easy there." Booth held up his arms, palms up in surrender. "Whatever it is you want, it has nothing to do with her. Just leave her alone okay? It's me you want, right?"

The man who had just jumped out of the van shook his head. "Actually Agent Booth, it's the both of you we want."

The man had revealed knowledge of who they were. To Booth, the stakes just got higher. It told him that they had been targeted.

"What do you want us for?" Brennan asked, her voice calm.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Just leave Dr Brennan out of it." Booth tried again to plead for her release.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. I can assure you, if you do as we say, Dr Brennan won't get hurt." The man flicked his eyes toward the other man, the one who had been disguised as an old man.

"Remember Agent Booth, we have a gun to your wife's back. I assure you, if you try anything, she will die, infront of your eyes."

Booth nodded, indicating he would cooperate.

"Open your mouth," the man who had been standing behind Booth spoke.

Booth complied, quickly looking into Brennan's eyes. "It's gonna be okay Bones."

No sooner did he finish his sentence, than Both felt a rag at his mouth. He knew what was coming. He had been a prisoner of war before. Now so many years later, he didn't expect this to happen on home soil.

Brennan nodded, trying to reassure Booth too. She watched as Booth bit down onto the rag. The man pulled the rag tight behind Booth's head, tying it securely, effectively preventing him from making a sound. He then pulled Booth's arms behind his back, using zip ties to secure his wrists behind his back.

They were clearly intent on kidnapping them, Brennan concluded. Her eyes darted to their surroundings. It was a quiet street, but she hoped someone, a car, anyone would pass by.

"Move." The man shoved Booth forward.

She watched as the man who still had Booth at gunpoint marched him to the back the van. Booth climbed in. She watched in horror as the man brought the gun in his hand swiftly and forcefully onto the back of Booth's head.

"Booth!" She cried out reflexively. She felt the man behind her push the gun forcefully into her back.

"Quiet!"

She watched as Booth fell onto his side, in the back of the van, unconscious.

"Your turn Dr Brennan," the man behind her spoke. "Try anything funny and we kill him."

"I'll do as you say."

"Good."

Everything felt surreal. Brennan felt as if she was watching her own kidnapping as the man who had gagged and tied Booth repeated the same to her. As she climbed into the back of the van alongside Booth, she braced herself for a blow to her head, but it never came. Instead a sack was thrown over her head and she was commanded to lie down.

The heard the doors of the van slam shut as she lay down. She then heard the two men climb into the front seat. The engine roared to life and the van sped off, making a sharp right, causing her to roll into Booth's unconscious body.

His lack of reaction worried her and she hoped he had sustained nothing more than a minor concussion. She hoped someone would realized they were missing soon. For now she could only guess as to the reason for their kidnapping. She drew comfort in the fact that her children were safe with friends.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Vmf447, GalaxieGurl (hope I didn't leave you hanging for too long), RobinAngelena (don't think it will be too quickly), dms517 (there's a reason for everything), Lauwy, 554Laura, FaithinBones, Victoria (thank you, I'm honoured), kareneb (right about that last bit), bookwormlady (you're right about that too!), wentzer, Poppyblue5 (they probably might), jsboneslover, aadams00 (your questions would be answered in time), regbride12, ZinaR, mendenbar and other guests. Thank you for your interest in this story and reviews.**_

 _ **This next chapter too awhile. Thanks for waiting, and reading.**_

Booth groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. His head was pounding and he tried to remember where he was. The air smelt musty, not something he was accustomed to waking up to. He couldn't be home, his bedroom didn't smell like that.

"Booth!"

He thought he heard Brennan calling for him her voice sounding more distant than normal. He opened his eyes, blinking.

"Booth!" Her voice was louder and clearer this time.

He groaned again as he finally managed to keep his eyes open. "Bones?" His voice came out in a hoarse croak as his heavy eyelids forced his eyes shut again.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was so worried."

Booth tried to remember why she had been worried and after a few minutes of silence, it call came back to him. His eyes snapped open and he focused his thoughts.

"Bones. Are you okay?"

"Yes." Brennan who had been crouching beside him closed her hand around his arm, offering him support as he struggled to sit up. She placed a comforting hand on his back, rubbing gently. A wave of nausea hit him and he forced the bile back down his throat.

"Where are we?"

"It appears that we are in a basement or underground bunker of some sort."

Booth scanned the area. It was a tiny room with concrete walls. He realised he had been lying on a tiny mattress on the ground. The room seemed empty and a naked bulb barely illuminated their cramped surroundings. Their sole source of light could not reach the corners of the small room and the shadows gave the room a creepy aura, as if they were in some B-grade horror movie.

"At least they were nice enough to give us a mattress," Booth retorted sarcastically. "What happened after they knocked me out. Did they hurt you?" He focused his eyes on Brennan, concerned for her well-being.

"No. They bound and gagged me, like they did you. Then they threw a bag over my head so I couldn't see. I was told to lie down next to you in the back of the van. I estimate they drove for perhaps two, maybe three hours before arriving here. Wherever here is. They carried me down those stairs before removing the bag from my head and untying me. Then they dragged you down here too. I was worried their actions hurt you further."

He followed the direction of Brennan's gaze, only now noticing the narrow flight of stairs in the corner of the room. No wonder his body ached, he had been dragged down a flight of stairs.

"They tell you what they want?"

"No. They never spoke to me again after I got into the van."

"This must be a secluded place, maybe some place out in the woods or something. They must be confident we can't escape. If not they would have kept us tied up."

"You're right about us not escaping. I've explored the room, studied the walls. There are no windows and the stairs lead to a concrete door. There also doesn't seem to be any weakness in the walls we can take advantage of. I don't think anyone would hear us, even if we screamed or knocked. This is most likely a storm cellar of some sort."

Booth moved to touch his head with his fingers. "Ouch!"

"You have a minor abrasion on your scalp. The wound's stopped bleeding. I checked."

"Thanks Bones." For once since the kidnapping, Booth breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was safe. "C'mere." He held out his arms.

Brennan scooted to settle between Booth's legs as he wrapped his arms round her. She had been scared, worried for his safety, but now that he was awake and seemingly lucid, she felt her worry abate. She felt him tighten his arms round her, "I'm gonna get us out of this, I promise."

"I do want to get out of here."

"Have they come back since they left us here?"

"No."

"And there's just the two of them right?"

"As far as I can tell, yes. They took your phone and our watches, so we won't know the time. No windows also means no natural light and no means of even estimating the time of day."

"Yeah, it's a way to psychologically break us down. I've been through this before."

"As have I."

She felt Booth sigh. "I'm sorry Bones, I should've done something – "

"They held us at gun point. There was nothing you could have done. Someone will realise we're missing soon." She turned in his arms, pulling him to her and hugging him. After a moment in each other's arms, Booth knew it was time to do something about their situation.

"C'mon, let's see if we can find a way out of here."

Brennan got up and Booth rose slowly to his feet. He swayed slightly, placing a hand on the cold wall to steady himself.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little dizzy. Probably got up too fast. I'm okay." He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, letting the dizziness pass. "Wanna show me that door you were talking about?"

Brennan took his hand. "It's up the stairs."

The couple ascended the wooden stairs, Brennan leading the way. At the concrete door, Booth ran his fingers along the hinges and the edges of the door, looking for any signs of weakness. He then tried pushing, throwing his entire weight against the door. The door didn't budge, remaining solidly between them and their freedom.

"I don't think our kidnappers would be foolish enough to allow us to escape so easily." Brennan said. "If the door opened easily, they would have kept us tied up."

"You're right Bones. The way they had it all planned means they aren't stupid. They knew our route. They probably had been watching us for some time."

"We could wait here by the door till they come back, we have the element of surprise."

"It's worth a shot, but there's no telling when they'll be back."

As if granted a wish by a mythical genie, the sound could be heard on the other side of the door, as if chains were being dragged across it. After sometime, more sounds, a lock turning. Booth quickly put his finger to his lips, indicating Brennan should be quiet.

"Let me handle this okay?" He whispered, pushing her gently behind him, hoping she would obey. The last thing he wanted was for her to be hurt in the process.

He didn't have time to wait for her reply. The door opened outward and the bright light of day shone in, temporarily blinding Booth and Brennan whose eyes had adjusted to the dim light of the room. Booth threw his body forward, tackling the first pair of legs that started descending the stairs. Both men tumbled down to the foot of the stairs. Booth who had been the more prepared one, managed to pin the smaller man to the ground. He began to rain punches onto the man, who tried in vain to fight back.

"Stop or I'll kill her!" A voice boomed above them.

Booth immediately stopped, allowing the man he had been attacking to push him aside. Booth slowly rose to his feet.

"I told you we should've tied this one up!" The man Booth had attacked said, holding his head.

"Quit your whining Logan!" The other man replied.

Booth quickly glanced at the other man, who had a sawed-off shotgun aimed at Brennan's back.

"Try this again and her body's gonna get ripped open with shotgun pellets you understand?!"

"Okay, okay. I won't do it again."

The man sneered, before pushing Brennan down the stairs. She tumbled down, stopping at Booth's feet.

"Bones!" Booth was about to crouch down to check on Brennan when he felt a blow to his gut. Booth doubled over, and was immediately kicked behind the knees, causing him to fall to the ground. Before he could react, the man who had been holding the shotgun started kicking at his ribs.

"Stop, please!"

Booth heard Brennan plead.

"Jake! Stop it man!" The man they knew to be Logan called out.

The kicking continued for a short while more before Jake stopped. Booth coughed, holding his side. His ribs hurt like hell but he pushed himself up to stand, determined not to show weakness.

"I swear Agent Booth, if you attack us when we come in here ever again, you'll get it worse than you just got. And I promise you, it won't just be you we'll hurt the next time." Jake nodded menacingly at Brennan.

"I promise." Booth coughed. "Don't hurt my wife."

"That's more like it." Jake replied. "We came down to see if you were awake and I guess we found out didn't we Logan?"

"Yup."

"What do you want with us?" Brennan asked.

"Maybe we'll tell you, maybe we won't. Just be happy we didn't kill ya." Jake answered. He aimed his gun at her. "Now move to the back of the room."

Brennan got to her feet and Booth followed behind her.

"Every time we come down here, we wanna see you at the back of the room. On the mattress. Understand?"

"Yes, we understand." Brennan replied, while Booth glared at the men, his fists clenched in anger.

"Let's go." Jake commanded.

Logan hurried up the stairs and Jake climbed up slowly, keeping the gun trained on them.

Brennan waited for the door to close before she turned to Booth. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I've had worse."

Brennan lifted his shirt, her fingers probing at his ribs. "I don't think they're broken."

Booth grimaced. "Didn't think so. Gonna leave a hell of a bruise though."

He gingerly sat back down on the mattress. Brennan sat down next to him.

"What do you think they want with us?" She asked.

"I don't know. I do know one thing though. We have each other and we're both okay. That's all that matters for now. We keep healthy and we wait. Wait for an opportunity to get away, or till they tell us what they want. And we stay alive."

"Okay." Brennan nodded her agreement.

"Hey, look at me Bones."

She turned her head, meeting his eyes. "When and if the time comes, if you need to make a run for it, or if they make us chose who lives or dies, it's you. It's always gotta be you who gets away. It's you who's gotta live."

"Booth…"

"No, promise me. Our children need you. We gotta think about them now. Promise me."

A memory of leaving Booth behind and fleeing with Christine as the SWAT team descended on their mighty hut so many years ago flashed in her mind. She remembered he had almost died then.

"Booth I can't – "

"Bones, promise me. Please. I hope to God it won't come to that but if it does… we need to think about Hank and Christine now. They need their mother."

"Okay, I promise."

"I mean it Bones."

"I don't like it, but I promise. And you must promise me you won't die."

"I promise." Booth nodded, unsure if he could keep that promise given their current circumstances. He knew he would give his life for hers in a heartbeat.

She leaned into him, pressing a desperate kiss to his lips, hoping for this nightmare to end soon.

 _ **Real life is busy and it'll be this way for awhile, so be patient with my updates on this story. Don't forget to leave a review on your way out.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thank you to all those who left a review. adorkablesalad, Lauwy, ZinaR (it'll be slow going in the initial few chapters), 554Laura (yeah hopefully they will), Vmf447 (thanks for waiting), GalaxieGurl (thanks for your continued support), RobinAngelena, FaithinBones (you're not wrong there), Victoria (not gonna leave much spoilers here but read on to find out), regbride12 (agree Booth would gladly die for Brennan, as you mentioned), mendenbar (thanks, hopefully you'll get an update for this chapter), jsboneslover (thanks, hope I didn't cause you too much discomfort), mphs95, aadams00 (me too!)**_

It was almost dinner time and Brennan still hadn't called. She had promised to come by before dinner. Angela, cradling her two-month old baby daughter in her arms waited till her phone went to Brennan's voicemail for the second time.

"Dr Brennan's not picking up?" Hodgins asked, rolling himself in his wheelchair towards her. Angela gently handed the baby to her father.

"No." She glanced over to Christine, Hank and Michael-Vincent who were playing happily in the family room. "Booth isn't picking up either. Maybe they're too busy having sexy hot tub sex."

Hodgins laughed. "I guess Hank and Christine can stay for dinner."

"Yeah, I left a message. Brennan will call back soon."

…

The mood in the tiny underground room was now sombre. Hours might have passed since their kidnappers left but there was no way to be certain how much time had passed. Booth's side was hurting badly but he didn't want to complain lest he worried Brennan. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast. Beside him, he heard Brennan chuckle.

"You're hungry."

"Yeah. It must be hours since breakfast."

"How's your head?"

"Hurts but not too bad." He brought his fingers to the bump on the back of his head, checking to make sure the beating he got earlier hadn't re-opened the wound. He was pleased to find it hadn't.

The sound of the door opening made both of them tense up. A pair of legs descended and they soon realized it was Logan, the man whom Booth had attacked earlier. He was now sporting a bruise under his left eye. In one hand he held a gun and in the other a metal bucket, filled with what appeared to be fabric. Logan dropped the bucket onto the ground, the loud clang reverberating through the tiny room. "To take a leak in."

He nodded towards the bucket. "Blankets. It gets cold at night."

"So it's night now?" Booth asked, trying to get a sense of the time. Logan didn't reply, simply stared back at Booth.

"We would need food and water," Brennan said, "if you intend to keep us alive. I'm assuming you do, since you've not killed us yet and are yet to reveal the purpose of our capture."

"You'll get somethin' to eat and drink when Jake says so." And with that, Logan ascended the stairs leaving the couple alone again.

Booth waited for the sound of the metal door being slammed shut before speaking. The sound of a padlock and chain could be heard as he spoke. "So it would seem that our friend Jake is in-charge of this operation."

"It would appear so," Brennan agreed.

"Every chance we get, we get on Logan' good side. But be careful of Jake."

"Why?"

"If Logan's taking orders, it mean he's the submissive in this partnership. He'll be easier to talk to. Also, I kinda beat him up just now, but he doesn't seem to hold a grudge. It was Jake who was kicking me just now. Logan convinced him to stop, so he probably has some sense of compassion right? If Logan's the submissive one of the pair, maybe Jake's doing something he doesn't really agree with, but had no choice but to go along with it. Maybe we could turn them against each other."

"Makes sense."

"Hey I'm smarter than I look." Booth joked, trying to make light of the situation.

"I know how smart you are." Brennan smiled at him, she got up, retrieving the blankets.

"They need us alive… and probably healthy for now." Booth said. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have bothered with the these." He pointed to the bucket and the blankets.

"But they're not giving us food or water."

"They wanna weaken us. Especially me." Booth said matter-of-factly.

"Booth…"

"I'm the bigger threat to them." He noted Brennan's worried look and was quick to add, "Hey, it's gonna be okay."

"You know there's no way for you to be absolutely certain about that."

"And yet I know for sure we're gonna get our fifty years together."

Brennan wanted to believe him despite the lack of evidence. She again took in their surroundings and considered their dire situation. She chose to believe him. She had faith in him.

"We should try to get some rest." She said.

"Yeah I'm gonna take a leak in the bucket. You don't mind do you?" Booth teased.

"No. Why should I be offended by your body performing it's basic functions? I'd also like to point out that I would need to go after you."

Booth laughed. His first since they had been kidnapped. After allowing their bodies to perform their basic bodily functions, as Brennan had put it, Booth lay down on the thin mattress, turning onto his side that wasn't injured. Brennan snuggled up next to him, careful to gently press her back into his frame. He wrapped an arm round her, ignoring the pain in his ribs.

"I miss Hank and Christine." Brennan said, her voice echoing through the room.

Booth kissed the top of her head. "I miss them too. But I'm sure they're okay. They're with Angela. I'm sure we have nothing to worry about… except maybe face paints that won't come off."

His attempt to lighten her mood didn't seem to work. "Angela should have figured out by now that we're missing."

"Yeah," Booth knew how important it was to keep their hopes up. "We'll be outta here in no time."

…

"Okay. I'm officially worrying." Angela said to Hodgins in a hushed tone, careful not to let the children overhear.

"Yeah, something's not right. It's way past bedtime and Dr B never forgets Hank and Christine, no matter how much fun she's having with Booth."

"Call Aubrey. Maybe he knows something we don't. He has the keys to their house." Angela glanced over to the two sleepy Booth children. "I'm gonna tell them Mom and Dad are busy at work and they're having a sleepover with Michael-Vincent."

Hodgins nodded, making the call to Aubrey.

…

By the time Aubrey got to the Hodgins residence, it was two in the morning. The children were sound asleep in bed. Angela was busy changing a cranky baby Katherine Temperance's diaper as Hodgins opened the door, letting the FBI Agent in.

"Well?" Hodgins asked.

"I checked their house. No sign of a break in or anything out of place. The doors were locked. It looks like Booth and Dr Brennan left the house quite some time ago."

"Well at least we know they aren't victims of a home invasion or something." Angela said as she picked up the baby, gently cradling her in her arms.

"I found Booth's truck, a couple of streets from their place." Aubrey shook his head. "Doesn't look good."

"Whaddya mean doesn't look good?" Hodgins asked, his voice reflecting his concern.

"It was just parked there at the side of the road. I found Dr Brennan's purse and phone inside the passenger seat. Money still inside. That means we can rule out a robbery. There was a picnic basket in the back seat that was packed with food. From the smell of the food inside, the truck had been parked there for a long time. It's like they just got out of the car and vanished."

"Any sign that something went wrong? Maybe a carjacking?"

"Booth could've stopped any potential carjackers." Angela stated.

"It's his day off, I don't think he would have had his gun with him." Aubrey replied.

"Yeah but he was a badass Army Ranger, he can kill someone if he wanted to with his bare hands right?"

"Were there signs of a struggle?" Hodgins asked.

"I know what you're thinking. I couldn't find any blood, not any visible to the naked eye anyway. Besides, if it was a carjacking, why take them and leave the car?"

"So you're saying they were kidnapped?" Angela asked, barely daring to believe what she was hearing herself say.

"Looks like it." Aubrey replied. "I can't think of any other reason why they'd just abandon the car and disappear."

"Why didn't Booth stop whoever it was?" Hodgins wondered out loud.

"It could've been more than one person. Or maybe Dr Brennan's life was being threatened." Aubrey reasoned.

"So what do we do?" Angela asked.

"I've already called FBI forensics. Sweep Booth's truck, maybe they'd find something, trace I couldn't see. And the tech team are gonna try to track down Booth's phone. It wasn't in his car, so maybe it's with him."

"It's a long shot but worth trying. I'm gonna help. No better guy to look in Booth's truck than me. If there's any trace evidence I'll find it. Hopefully it'll lead us to Booth and Dr B." Hodgins said, already wheeling himself to the bedroom to get dressed for work.

"I'm going to the lab and try locating Booth's phone." Angela said. She pointed at Aubrey. "Tell the techs to bring me Bren's phone too. Maybe there's something in there that could be useful. In the meantime, you're on babysitting duty. Michael-Vincent, Hank and Christine. I'll take baby Katherine with me."

"Right." Aubrey agreed. "I'll drop the kids off with Cam and Arastoo in the morning and I'll come by the lab."

"If the children ask, their parents are busy at work. That's what I told them."

"Got it." Aubrey nodded.

"So we're agreeing? It's a kidnapping then?" Hodgins asked.

"I can't think of any other reason they'd just disappear and leave their children behind. In the morning, I'm going to look up files of people Booth has put away. Maybe someone out for revenge got them."

"We should go." Angela said to her husband. "We need to find them and get them back safe."

"I couldn't agree more." Hodgins replied.


	4. Chapter 4

_**RobinAngelena, Lauwy, kareneb, mendenbar, GalaxieGurl (the calvary might be just barely on the way), FaithinBones (thanks. Jake might know that but he might not want to give them any water just yet), Vmf447 (separating them might happen, not letting any spoilers out), regbride12, jsboneslover (yup, Aubrey is pretty awesome), aadams00**_

Booth and Brennan spent an uncomfortable night on the thin mattress on the cold floor. The blankets were helpful but it was still cold nonetheless. Booth had given his jacket to Brennan and managed what seemed like only a couple of hours of sleep.

"I'm cold." Booth complained, his eyes still closed.

"Sex could help us keep warm."

"Really?" Booth opened his eyes, turning his head to look into Brennan's blue eyes.

"I'm just being practical."

"Yeah, under any other circumstances I'd say yes but… I don't think that's a good idea."

"Yes our bodies would be expanding energy for a futile endeavour. If our kidnappers are intent on starving us we should conserve energy as far as possible."

"Yeah, so let's just lie here and not move."

Brennan was in no mood to laugh. She was starting to feel very thirsty and she knew Booth had to be too.

"The human body can survive for approximately three weeks without food but without water…"

"I know Bones. I was a Ranger remember? But hey, they're not gonna let us die. If they'd wanted us dead, they could've have killed us a long time ago. But they didn't."

"What could they possibly want?" Brennan turned her head to stare at the cold, grey ceiling.

"I don't know." Booth blew out a frustrated breath. "I keep trying to remember if I had arrested one of "em before but nothing."

"They kidnapped the both of us, so perhaps it has something to do with me."

"What another crazy fan? Doesn't seem like it. Seems like they have something in mind. Crazy, stalker fan doesn't fit what they've been doing so far."

"My brain is trying to make sense of this all but I just can't quite make the connections yet. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in a part of my subconscious brain which I'm unable to access at the moment."

"Give yourself some time, we're both short on sleep and food."

The sound of the door opening made Booth push himself up to sit. His body protested in the form of pain. Beside him, Brennan groaned softly as she too sat up. The night on the cold hard floor had taken it's toll on her too.

It was Logan again. He stood at the foot of the stairs, a gun trained on them. "Come to check if you guys were still alive."

The open door allowed light to stream in. Booth figured it was morning again. "What time is it?"

"I can't tell you." Logan replied.

"Why? Cause Jake says so?"

Logan remained silent.

"You said you came to check if we were still alive. That means you need us alive for something. What say you just cut to the chase and tell us huh?"

Again Booth was met with silence.

"You know who I am. You know I'm FBI. Kidnapping an FBI Agent is a federal offense."

More silence.

"You know what? You don't wanna tell us, that's okay. We'll figure it out. See my wife here is the smartest person in the world."

Logan glared angrily at Brennan, before turning to leave. They watched as he silently trudged up the stairs. The sound of the door slamming shut followed.

"You know the next time he comes down here, I could try to take him down, doesn't matter if he has a gun."

"He's careful to keep his distance."

"I could take him, but let's give it a little more time. Just in case Jake is waiting outside each time Logan comes in. I can't risk him coming in here and shooting you."

"Or you." Brennan was quick to add. "So we just wait?"

"For now, I guess that's all we can do."

…

It was early in the afternoon in the newly rebuilt Jeffersonian Medico-legal lab and concerned friends had gathered in Angela's office.

"I've tried to pull up images from traffic cameras." Angela said as she flashed a grainy video playback on the large screen. "We can see that Brennan and Booth drove past at eight fifteen. They then made a left turn up ahead."

"That's not too far from where Booth's truck was found." Aubrey pointed out. "Any images of them being taken?"

"Unfortunately not. There were no traffic cameras close enough. Although I did notice Booth slowing down as they passed this lady walking her dog." Angela played back the short video of Booth and Brennan driving past. "Perhaps she was part of the kidnapping, or perhaps she's a neighbour. Whoever she is, she might have seen something."

"I'll put her face out on the news, see if anyone knows who she is." Aubrey offered.

"Hey maybe we can try asking Christine?" Hodgins who had been silent till now spoke up. Angela and Aubrey turned to look at him. "I'm just saying if she's a neighbour or friend, Christine might know her. It'll be faster than waiting on someone to come forward."

"That's a brilliant idea." Aubrey said, "But I thought we weren't gonna tell the kids their parents were missing."

"We can make something up right?"

"Yeah but she'll see Booth's car in the video. And she's pretty smart, she'll figure out something's up."

"Maybe we should just tell her the truth?" Hodgins shrugged.

"Whoa. Booth and Brennan always say we should shield their children from the horrors of what we do." Aubrey pointed out. "They don't want them to worry."

"What if Booth or Bren is hurt? What if we need to find them as soon as we can?" Angela said. "Bren told Christine the truth when Booth was in jail and she was only three then. When Booth was stuck in the basement after Jared died, she told Christine that her father was missing. I think Bren would be okay with this, especially if it turns out that Christine can help us find her parents."

"It's worth a shot." Aubrey conceded. "You should go get her, bring her here."

"What are you gonna do?" Hodgins asked.

"I'm gonna head back to the office. Caroline's got a team of Agents looking into Booth and Brennan's old cases, anyone who might have it out for them. I'm gonna check in on their progress, see if there're any leads to follow. Call me when you have Christine here. I wanna be here when she sees that video."

"You got it." Angela replied, a look of renewed determination on her face.

…

The lack of sleep, water and food was beginning to take it's toll on Brennan and Booth.

"I can't just sit here and wait. We need to find a way out of here." Booth grumbled.

"What happened to just waiting? That was what you said earlier."

"We wait any longer, we might die."

"If your theory is correct, they won't let us die. They know when to bring us water at the very least."

Booth sighed. "Sorry. I'm just being inpatient."

"Someone would have figured out we're missing by now. They're working on finding us."

"Yeah, they probably are." Booth leaned back against the cold hard wall hoping she was right. The couple had gotten used to just sitting in the silence of the dimly lit room. Brennan sat, next to Booth, frustrated that they could currently do nothing to improve their situation. In the tiny room where they were currently trapped, days could have passed and there was no way they would know. A minute felt like an hour and an hour could have gone by in what felt like a minute.

…

Christine Booth sat on the high swivel chair in her Aunty Angela's office. She didn't get to come to her mother's place of work very often so this felt like a novelty to her. She had been waiting for what seemed like a long time and she was getting bored. She wasn't sure what they were waiting for. She watched as Aunty Angela typed away at her computer, occasionally giving her a reassuring smile.

And then Uncle Aubrey walked in. She was disappointed. She had been hoping it would be her mother. She missed her parents.

"Hey Christine."

""Hi Uncle Aubrey. Where's my Mom and Dad?"

Aubrey glanced over to Angela who shook her head as she walked towards Christine and Aubrey.

"Um what exactly did Aunty Angela tell you?"

"She said Mommy and Daddy need my help for work."

Angela had figured out a way for Christine not to know the entire truth. He could work with that.

"Yeah, yeah. We'd like you to watch a video. Maybe you'd be able to help us with something and your Mommy and Daddy can come home soon after their work is done. Would you like to help?"

"Yes of course."

"Great." Angela replied, pulling up the video image onto the large screen. "I'm just gonna start the video and you tell us what you see. I may ask you some questions. Don't worry if you don't know the answers okay?"

"Okay." Christine replied eagerly.

The video played and Christine watched intently, focusing on the video. She was a good helper. Her parents had told her so many times before. She knew she would be of help to them now. A familiar car appeared on the screen. The image resolution was terrible, nothing like the cartoons she watched with her Dad but she recognized it despite the poor quality.

"Hey that's my Daddy's car!"

"That is?" Angela exclaimed. "We wouldn't have been sure without you. Good job Christine. Tell us anything else you see okay?"

Christine beamed, happy to be praised for a job well done. She watched as Mrs Duncan who was out walking her dog like she always did passed on the sidewalk. When she helped with her Mom in the garden or mowed the lawn with her Dad, they would occasionally wave and say hi to Mrs Duncan who lived in their neighbourhood. Christine liked her big, black dog. She hoped her parents would let her have a puppy some day.

"That's Mrs Duncan, walking by my Daddy's car."

The video was paused. Angela and Aubrey exchanged knowing glances. Christine had recognized the woman in the video.

"Do you know Mrs Duncan, Christine? Aubrey asked.

"She lives in our neighborhood. We wave to say hi when she passes by our house."

"Do you know which house she lives in?"

Christine shook her head, afraid that she had disappointed her Uncle Aubrey and Aunty Angela.

"That's okay, you've helped a lot. Sweetheart." Angela said.

"Yeah, we now know she lives in your neighborhood. We'll find her in no time."

"Is Mrs Duncan in trouble?" Christine asked, worried. She knew her parents helped people in trouble.

"Oh no she isn't." Aubrey was quick to reply.

"Are my Mommy and Daddy in trouble?" Christine asked, suddenly worried as to why they weren't there in her mother's office.

"They're not." Aubrey again was the one to answer.

"Then can I see them? For a little while, I won't be any trouble, I just want a hug." Christine suddenly missed her parents a lot. She tried hard not to cry. It had felt like a very long time ago since she had seen them.

"You know what? They're really busy." Angela said, but Christine didn't quite believe what she was saying. She knew something was wrong.

"Something's wrong. I just know it. You're not telling me. Are my Mommy and Daddy okay?"

Quickly noticing that Christine was tearing up, Aubrey took the little girl into his arms, offering her a hug. He mused that Christine might have inherited her father's famous gut instincts.

"You need to tell me if something's wrong. Mommy always says we need to the truth."

"Your Mom and Dad are… we don't know where they are. But we're working on finding them." Angela said.

"Are they okay? They didn't go away like Grandpa did they?"

"Oh no, they definitely didn't." Aubrey quickly assured her. "You did a great job telling us about Mrs Duncan. Maybe she knows where they went. Maybe she could help us. I promise, I'm gonna do everything I can and I'll make sure your Mom and Dad come home to you and Hank okay? Now how about I take you to the Royal Diner and we get some fries to go? We can share them with Hank."

Christine nodded, still holding back her tears. Her Dad had always told her she needed to be brave. She trusted her Uncle Aubrey, she knew he would keep his promise.


	5. Chapter 5

_**topaz270 (thank you, guess you'll have to read on to find out), RobinAngelena, Vmf447 (hope I didn't keep you waiting too long), 554Laura (thanks), kareneb, FaithinBones, jsboneslover, ZinaR (things will get moving but it'll be a slow build), regbride12, bookwormlady (oh thought I was taking awhile to update, glad its fast enough for you :), mendenbar (very true), wentzer, GalaxieGurl (thanks for waiting for this next chapter), Phyllis, aadams00 (that they are), and other guests.**_

 _ **Thank you for all your reviews, they're greatly appreciated. Many of you made mention of the suspense and are wondering as to Jake and Logan's motives. It'll all be revealed in time and you'll see things aren't as simple as they seem. Some of you wondered if B &B would be rescued or would they escape on their own. It's all planned up in my head and I won't want to give away too much. The pace of the story is slower for now, kinda like how time is for our fave couple, locked away in their tiny little underground prison. It's a shorter chapter this time but the story is picking up.**_

Lethargic. That was how Brennan felt. Even thinking of the word made her feel tired. That she was thirsty, was an understatement. The inability to tell how much time had passed was frustrating. She could almost sense the same frustration radiating off Booth. He had tried to remain upbeat but she knew he was getting weaker from their lack of food and water. They spent their time chatting in the dim light about their children, both quietly grateful that at least they were still together. It would have been unimaginable if they had been locked up separately. They talked about what they would do with Christine and Hank when they got out. Not if but when. Booth had been careful to constantly remind her of that.

Beside her, he groaned.

"You okay Booth?"

"Yeah." His voice cracked.

They had agreed that they needed to expend as little energy as possible and when alone in the room, lying next to each other was best for their current situation.

"I'm just…"

She felt him blow out an agonised breath.

"I should've seen this coming. I mean, they must've watched us for some time. I should've noticed. I could have stopped this."

"You can't blame yourself for this Booth."

Booth sat up, clearly agitated. "I can't just lie here anymore. Who knows how long before anyone finds us? When Heather Taffet took me, I kept fighting, kept trying to find a way out. You did too when she buried you and Hodgins in that car."

Brennan now sat up too, taking Booth's hand in hers. "I knew you'd find me. I didn't know it then, but Hodgins rightly said I had faith... in you. I still do."

Booth stared at their linked hands for a moment, remembering what it was like watching the timer in the lab count down to when her oxygen run out. It was hell. Each second that ticked by felt as if his own oxygen supply was diminishing. He knew if he didn't find her in time then, he would have been haunted by that failure forever. He couldn't fail her this time either.

"When I was stuck in that ship that was going to blow up… what kept me going was thinking about how I had to get out. How I had to see you again. And when I was bleeding in that basement, thinking of going home to you and our children was what motivated me. We really need to get home to Hank and Christine."

"I concur with your last statement. We need to get home. But our kidnappers need us alive. Surely they would reveal the purpose of our kidnapping. soon."

"I was thinking, Logan said he came to check if we were still alive. What if they're waiting for us to die?"

"There are quicker and more efficient ways to kill someone Booth."

"Torture?"

"Again, there are more sinister means of torture."

"You've got a point." Booth groaned again as he stood up slowly, as if doing so took all the energy he could muster. "I gotta put a stop to this. We're not sleeping well, and we're gonna die from lack of water if this keeps up."

"What are you intending to do?"

"The next time one of 'em comes in here, I'll jump him."

"You're weakened by your body's lack of nutrition." Brennan pointed out. Her body ached and she was hungry and tired. Her thirst felt like a persistent mental torture as her mind constantly conjured up images of a cold glass of water.

"Then I'd better get it done before I get any weaker."

"Booth…"

"I just can't sit here and wait for us to die Bones. Chances are our friends know we're missing but they may not find us in time. I don't know about you but it feels like it's been a couple of days since we were taken."

"It can't be more than three, we would have died of dehydration by now."

Booth started to walk slowly along the walls of the room, his hand moving along the walls as if looking for a means of escape. "There's gotta be some way to get ourselves out of here."

"You're just expanding needless energy."

"No!" The force of his reply reverberated round the small room. Booth inhaled deeply. "I'm sorry Bones. I need to do something."

"Sometimes doing nothing is something."

The sound of the doors opening interrupted their discussion. Booth seemed to have dug deep and found a burst of energy as he moved swiftly to the foot of the stairs. Crouching he readied himself to attack whoever was coming down. He swayed slightly, holding a hand to the cold concrete wall to steady himself. The light pouring in from the open doors felt too bright to his eyes which had gotten used to the darkness of their underground prison.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you." Jake's voice could be heard, before they saw him descend the stairs. Behind him, Logan followed, a shot gun in hand.

"Get back, before I put a hole in your stomach." Logan growled.

Booth had considered tackling whoever it was who came, but he wasn't expecting both Jake and Logan together. Grudgingly, he moved back to where Brennan was on the mattress.

"Time to do some work." Jake said.

"Work?" Brennan asked. "What sort of work?"

"First I need Agent Booth to sit down." Jake commanded.

Logan aimed the gun at Brennan, an effective method of making Booth obey. Booth sat back down on the mattress.

Jake crouched down and lowered a small box he was holding onto the ground. He opened the lid, then pushed the box towards Brennan.

"Open it." Jake commanded. Logan stood motionless, his gun still aimed at her.

With both hands, Brennan picked up the object that had been wrapped in a cloth. Years of experience in mass graves and her daily work at the Jeffersonian, immediately told her what she was holding in her hands. She simply needed to confirm it. Unwrapping it revealed a human skull.

"It's a skull. Human."

"What can you tell us about this skull?" Jake asked.

"Is this what you kidnapped us for? So that Bones could take a look at some dead person?" Booth scoffed rather incredulously. "You could've just looked her up at the Jeffersonian."

"I've told you all I can. Human skull." Brennan stated plainly.

Booth had seen his wife obtain so much information from parts of the human skeleton, much smaller than a skull. He knew she was holding back on purpose. He knew she didn't really have a poker face but this time she was surprisingly able to keep her expression neutral.

"That's it? I thought you were the best?"

Jake's words seemed to anger Brennan. She knew her expertise was needed and that meant she could use it as a bargaining tool. "I am the best but you've kept us here against our wishes for I don't know how long. We're both weak from a lack of food and water. Even someone as smart as me would need at the very least fluids and some glucose for my brain to function at its optimum. Dehydration causes the human brain to become sluggish in its processing capability."

Jake glanced over to Logan, as if wondering what to make of her tirade.

"She's saying if you want her to tell you more, you'll need to give her some water, food." Booth, catching on to what Brennan was getting at, spoke.

There was a pause before Jake stood up. Taking the gun from Logan, he commanded, "Get some water."

Logan nodded then disappeared up the stairs. He returned with a jug in hand. He placed the jug infront of Brennan. She could see that it had been filled to the brim.

"Drink." Jake said.

"Easy Bones." Booth warned, not wanting her to take in too much too quickly after such a long fast.

"I know." Brennan replied softly as she lifted the jug with shaky hands to her lips, surprised at how weak she had become. She took a sip, the water sliding down her throat felt like the best water she had ever tasted. The cool liquid soothed her parched throat. She took another small sip before slowly placing the jug back on the ground, aware that this could be their only source of water in a long time to come.

"Tell us what you know and we'll leave the water. Then your husband can have a drink too."

Eager to let Booth have some water too, Brennan lifted the skull and started her examination. "Caucasian, poor dentition. Without the rest of the skeleton I'm not confident in determining the gender. If I had to postulate, I would say female. What I can tell you is that the skull belonged to someone pubescent. Thirteen or fourteen perhaps."

She glanced up at Jake who stared back at her. Her words seemed to have affected both him and Logan, but Brennan couldn't tell as to what emotion she had evoked in them.

"Anything else? Like how she died?"

"So the skull did belong to a female. How did you know?"

"Let's just assume it's a she." Jake said.

For the longest time since they started working together, watching her work on human remains had always mesmerised Booth. As if she was doing a beautiful dance, allowing her fingers to communicate with the bones. It was akin to watching a graceful ballet dancer on stage. He had never told her that, she would laugh it off. But it never ceased to amaze him and fill him with pride. This time, Booth felt no different. He watched as Brennan studied the skull carefully again, her fingers ghosting its surface.

"Normally, I have my equipment at the Jeffersonian to help me magnify what the human eye may not be able to detect. Touch gives my tactile senses some information as well of course but in a court of law, it wouldn't be conclusive. Based on what I can now see, there is no obvious cause of death. There is a remodelled hairline fracture to the occipital region. Since it's remodelled it is very unlikely to have occurred near or at time of death. I could tell you more if I could have access to the rest of the skeleton, assuming you have it."

Once again, her words seemed to deeply affect their captors and Jake snatched the skull from Brennan's hands, wrapping it carefully in the cloth then placing it back into the box. Replacing the lid, he picked up the box as he stood.

"Is this is why you kidnapped us? So I could help you identify human remains?" Brennan asked. "If you could give me access to the rest of the skeleton – "

"We'll bring you another bone tomorrow." Jake said.

"If you want me to accurately determine cause of death and identify the remains, you must allow me to study the area where they were found. If you bring me parts like this, you may compromise important clues and affect my findings."

"It's just your way of trying to escape." Jake growled.

"She means it." Booth spoke up. "If you know enough about Dr Brennan you'd know she doesn't lie and she means it when she tells you she needs to see where the remains were found. She doesn't like her remains compromised, trust me, I know. It's your best chance of finding whatever answers you need."

"We'll think about it." Jake nodded towards Logan as he made his way back up the stairs. "Enjoy your water, you've earned it."

 _ **It might be more than a week before I can get the next chapter up. I'm kinda a perfectionist, so I'd rather take a little more time putting up something I'm happy with. In the meantime, reviews as always are so greatly appreciated.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Thank yous to: robinangelena, GalaxieGurl (yeah being held captive is driving Booth nunu lol!), aadams00, 554Laura, FaithinBones, regbride12 (sorry, I'm not giving too much away yet), Lauwy (things will work out, that much I can assure you), ZinaR, sandyholl, jsboneslover, Victoria, mendenbar (you're right about their reason for taking Booth too). Your reviews are very much appreciated.**_

Booth and Brennan drank half of the water in the jug, their spirits lifted by the cool liquid.

"We should save some of that, in case they take a couple more days to get back here." Booth said.

"Perhaps if I provided more answers, they'd bring us some food. Our glycogen reserves are probably near depleted by now. Adipose tissue is being used for energy now but it won't be sufficient. Soon our bodies would start breaking down protein for glucose."

"We'll start losing muscle."

"Yes. Which is not good because it would eventually lead to organ failure."

"I won't let it come down to that." He moved to squeezer her hand. "That was pretty smart back there, bargaining for water."

"I learnt from years of watching you in the interrogation room." She moved towards him, wrapping her arms round his waist.

Booth smiled proudly at her, tightening his arms round her. "I'm still gonna try find a way out of here though."

"Why do you think they kidnapped us just to get my help to identify remains?"

"I don't know. I can tell you that the person the skull belonged to was someone they cared about. Wouldn't have been wrapped in a cloth and kept in a box if she wasn't. And Jake said she, so he must know something."

"If they know who it is, why ask me to identify the skull?"

"Maybe they wanna be sure its who they think it is? Of maybe it's not the who but how? They were really interested in how she died. Maybe they already know who the remains belong to."

"Why didn't they just go through the proper channels? Call the police when they found the remains."

"I noticed they were kinda affected when you said it was a kid. Also when you talked about the healed fracture."

"You think they're responsible?"

"I don't know Bones, why get your help if they're the killers?

"We seem to have more questions than answers."

"At least we're getting somewhere, at least we got water for now. We gotta be thankful for that."

…

Progress after Christine helped identify Mrs Duncan was slow. Aubrey took some time actually locating her and it was already the next day by the time he got to questioning her. It was now day three since the couple went missing and he knew if either of them needed medical attention, he could have been too late.

He walked into Angela's office, hoping she had managed to locate Booth's phone.

"Hey Angela, anything?"

"No luck on finding Booth's phone. Bren's phone doesn't give us anything useful to help us find them either. Was Mrs Duncan able to help?"

"We did get a little lucky there. Christine was right, she walks her dog everyday along the same route. Mrs Duncan remembers a blue van parked on the street that I found Booth's car. Unfortunately she can't give us more than that. All she can remember is that it was blue."

"Any chance she saw the license plate?"

"No." Aubrey shook his head. "But she noticed because it wasn't the first time she saw it. Meaning, whoever took Dr Brennan and Booth had been watching them. I'm not sure if it gets us any closer to finding them though."

"She said she's seen the van a couple of times in their neighborhood right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll go through footage from the traffic cameras in the area, and I'll look out for the blue van. Maybe I'll be able to get a license plate number."

"Good thinking. Hodgins find anything?"

"So far nothing out of the ordinary, which means the kidnappers were not in Booth's truck. No traces of blood or anything which is good I hope."

"Yeah I hope they're not hurt."

"How are the children?"

Aubrey had Hank and Christine with him in his office at the FBI since their parents went missing, just in case they were in danger. In the evenings, he took them back to their own house to spend the night, hoping that the familiarity of their own home would comfort them.

"Caroline's with them now. Hank still doesn't really understand what's going on but Christine's worried. She's being brave for her brother. He keeps asking for his Mommy and Daddy."

"Poor things."

"We'll get their parents back." Aubrey said, "I promised Christine."

…

Booth groaned as he stretched, his side still hurting. A large bruise now covered the area were Jake had viciously kicked him before. He got up slowly after another uncomfortable night on the floor. Brennan was already up and taking a sip from the water in the jug.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I'm okay."

Brennan moved to lift Booth's shirt, examining the bruise, her fingers probing gently.

"Staring at it won't make it go away you know."

"I know," Brennan smiled, pressing a kiss to his lips. "You should have some water, I know you've been drinking less for me. They will come back to replenish it, that I can say with some degree of certainty."

"I agree. They'll be back." Booth replied, obediently moving to take a drink out of the jug which was now a little less than half full. His stomach growled as the water went down.

"I'm starving though."

"I'm rather famished too."

The sound of the doors opening, again interrupted their conversation. Jake and Logan appeared.

"You guys are bright and early today. Assuming it's morning."

"It is." Jake replied, surprising Booth with his forthcoming answer.

"I've thought about what you said Dr Brennan." Jake turned to her. "You're coming with us."

"What about me?" Booth immediately asked, moving to put himself physically between Jake and Brennan.

Logan who had his shotgun aimed at them immediately stepped towards him, shoving the gun into Booth's ribs, causing him to grunt in pain.

"Back!" Logan commanded.

"I'll come with you, don't hurt him." Brennan quickly said.

"What?! No! You're not taking her! Where she goes, I go."

"You're in no position to bargain Agent Booth. As you can see, it's Dr Brennan we really need. We could do without you." Jake sneered.

Afraid for Booth's life, Brennan quickly spoke up. "Leave him alone. I'll come with you."

"What do you want her for?" Booth growled angrily, not intimidated by the gun that Logan had aimed at him.

"Dr Brennan was the one who said yesterday that she needed to see where the bones was found."

"If you hurt her in anyway…" Booth warned.

Jake chuckled, then reached into his back pocket, holding out a roll of duct tape. "Your hands Agent Booth."

Booth stared defiantly back at Jake. "Remember I told you we don't need you. Keeping you alive is just a courtesy on account of Dr Brennan here."

"Booth please." Brennan pleaded. She knew that as long as the both of them were alive their chances of escaping were higher than if they were alone.

Booth held out his hands. Jake roughly pulled them behind him, an action similar to what Booth often did when arresting a suspect. He bound Booth's wrists tightly behind. He then shoved Booth roughly, causing him to fall onto the ground. Booth lay on his side on the ground. It was a law enforcement technique. With his hands tied behind his back akin to being in handcuffs, it was much harder to get back onto this feet.

"Your turn Dr Brennan, we can't have you trying to escape."

Brennan obediently held out her hands, but unlike Booth, Jake bound her wrists together in front of her.

"Bones, remember what we talked about?" Booth said.

"Now remember Dr Brennan, if you try to escape, or if you disobey whatever we say, we'll come back and put a bullet through his head. Understood?" Jake added.

"I understand."

"Good. Now let's go." Jake led the way towards the stairs. Brennan took one look at Booth who was on his side on the ground. His eyes were telling her to try to escape and she glared back a "no".

"I'll see you later Booth." Brennan said to emphasize her point.

"Remember I love you Bones." Booth said, genuinely worried for her. What if she completed what was needed of her and they decided to kill her? He fumed inside, wishing she would just do what he wanted her to this time.

Jake could be heard laughing. "There's no need to be so dramatic. I assure you, Dr Brennan will come back. Now let's go before I change my mind!"

Brennan looked back at Booth, then started up the stairs. Her legs felt weak and they shook under her weight as she took each step. As she reached the top of the stairs and exited her underground prison for the last three days, she took in a deep breath. The bright light of day assaulted her eyes but the fresh air gave her a renewed sense of hope. Jake stopped and so did she. They waited as Logan closed the double doors then locked them. For additional security, he pulled a heavy chain over the handles, securing them with a padlock.

She now realised that they had been held in an underground storm bunker of some sort and as she surveyed her surroundings she began to understand how remote this location was. There were no buildings nearby, the storm bunker stood by itself. Logan then pulled some tree branches over the doors. She realised that unless someone was intentionally looking for the entrance, it was unlikely anyone would notice those doors leading down into the ground.

Her heart sank. Escape seemed impossible and she was certainly not going to attempt to escape and risk Booth's life.

"Let's go." Logan said, jarring her out of her thoughts. As she turned, he gave her gentle push.

Brennan stumbled forwards, following Jake into the dense wooded area that surrounded them.


	7. Chapter 7

_**RobinAngelena, ZinaR (yes they'll get some nourishment soon), GalaxieGurl (you're right about Booth worrying and Brennan doing her job), 554Laura (they will eventually), Vmf447 (this chapter should put your mind at ease), regbride12 (yes they are very devoted to each other), kareneb (answers soon), jsboneslover, FaithinBones (you might be right about that), aadams00, mendenbar, and other guests. Thank you for taking the time to review.**_

The trio trudged deep into the heart of the woods. Brennan felt weak from her lack of food and water but pushed on, thoughts of keeping Booth alive making her force her tired legs onward, one step at a time.

Brennan attempted to memorise the route they were taking but there were no obvious landmarks. Nonetheless, she tried her best to remember their long hike, hoping it would come in handy should an escape attempt be made. Jake led the way confidently, as if he had taken that particular non-descript route numerous times before. After what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, they stopped.

"This is where we found her." Jake spoke.

Brennan looked at the shallow grave a few feet infront of them.

"You dug up the area?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"How'd you know where to look?" Brennan turned, surveying the area. Only a trained eye would know how to look for clues in the vegetation.

"None of your business. We just want you to tell us all you can about the person buried here."

"Why didn't you just call the police when you found the remains?"

"Enough questions!" Jake bellowed.

Not intimidated, Brennan replied, "Knowing the circumstances of how a set of remains were discovered helps me put things in context and aids the entire process of identification."

"We think someone killed her. We wanna know if she's who we think she is and what happened to her." Logan answered.

"Who do you think she is?"

"Tell us what you know first." Jake said.

"Fine but I'll need to have my hands free."

Jake nodded as Logan pulled out a pocket knife and cut through the tape.

Brennan crouched onto the ground, looking at the remains. She felt weak and dizzy, something she didn't usually feel at crime scenes. She studied the remains silently, aware that holding back information was her only means of negotiating with her kidnappers at the moment. She took her times. Her mind had to quickly process what she saw, then decide what information to give to her captors.

"I stand by my findings from yesterday. Female, likely thirteen or fourteen. Numerous remodelled fractures. She was probably an individual who loved to engage in dangerous sports, or more likely a victim of some sort of abuse. She was athletic, a runner if I were to postulate. Where is the skull from yesterday?"

"We didn't bring it with us." Jake answered.

"If you could show me how it was placed in relation to the rest of the remains it might help me determine cause of death."

"So you still can't tell us how she died?"

"Not yet. Even back at the lab, it sometimes took me days to accurately obtain information. And there I had colleagues and equipment to help me analyse evidence."

"We'll bring you back tomorrow with the skull."

"Was I right about who she was?"

Logan looked like he wanted to answer but Jake shook his head. "We gotta start heading back."

"That's all?" Brennan asked. "After our long hike in the woods?"

"Yes. For now."

"Other than the skull, I would need Agent Booth with me here tomorrow."

"Why?!" Jake demanded.

"We work as a team. Our success in solving crimes stems from our partnership which relies on my scientific knowledge and his expertise and experience from years as an FBI Agent in the field. He is able to certain discern clues which I can't. Put together, we would very likely give you all the answers you seek."

Brennan rose slowly to her feet, a wave of dizziness causing her to stumble. Logan caught her.

"Think you can make it back?" he asked.

"She doesn't have much of a choice." Jake said, "If she wants to see her husband again."

"I can make the journey back." Brennan promised.

…

Booth grunted as he tried to sit up. Although he had been put in an awkward position, making it difficult to sit up, it wouldn't have been impossible if he had been healthy but now with a lack of nutrition, and with his ribs still hurting, it was frustratingly impossible to do so.

He wasn't sure what he hoped to accomplish by sitting then standing up but he was worried out of his mind for Brennan. His mind conjured up images of her hurt, raped or killed. Frustrated and exhausted he blew out an angry breath. The sweat he had worked up from trying to sit up dripped down his forehead.

He wasn't someone to quit at anything but now slightly out of breath, he decided he should just wait. Hours passed with only the sound of his pounding heart keeping him company. He missed Brennan, being held captive with her had helped pass the time. He hoped she was unharmed. Finally he heard the sounds he had waited so long to hear. The sound of something being dragged then the doors opening. He watched Logan descend the stairs. To his relief, Brennan followed behind him. Jake brought up the rear.

Brennan took her place beside Booth, collapsing as if exhausted.

"Release him." Jake commanded and Logan moved to cut the restrains from Booth's wrists. Booth groaned as he slowly rolled onto his back, allowing the blood to flow back to his now numb extremities. He inhaled deeply, and beside him he felt Brennan do the same, as if both collectively relieved that the other was unharmed.

The couple waited for Jake and Logan to leave before speaking.

"You okay Bones?" Booth spoke first.

"Yes. Tired, but they did not harm me. They took me to where the remains were found. I studied the rest of the skeleton. You?"

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm hurting all over. Wasn't a good position to be stuck in for hours. Tried to get up but the way I my hands were tied up…"

Brennan moved slowly, scooting herself forward to retrieve the jug of water, taking thirst quenching gulps before stopping herself. She helped Booth up then brought the almost empty jug to his lips.

"Drink."

"Hey I just lay here, you were the one who went to work."

"Drink." She repeated.

Booth took the jug, downing the last of their water.

"Let's hope they come back with more."

"They will. I think Jake is satisfied with what I did today."

"You think?"

"Yes."

Expecting to be left alone at least till the next day, the couple were surprised to hear the door opening again.

Logan descended the stairs, alone this time.

"Promise you won't try to escape and you'll have food and water."

Knowing that they badly needed food and water, Brennan was quick to agree. "We promise," she replied as he placed her hand on Booth's, hoping he wouldn't try to attach Logan.

Logan approached them, a bucket in hand and a brown paper bag in the other. The couple watched as Logan refilled the jug but only halfway. He dropped the paper bag onto the ground.

"Something to eat."

"She means something to you doesn't she?" Booth asked.

Logan who had turned to leave turned back to face Booth. He stared silently back at him.

"The girl that you want Dr Brennan to identify. She your sister? Girlfriend? Was it an accident?"

Logan bit down on his lip.

"Maybe your old man beat her. You know the fracture found on the skull? Suggests someone beat her."

"Her skeletal structure does show evidence of possible domestic abuse. Unless she was some sort of a daredevil, enjoyed skateboarding or rock climbing or some variation of a dangerous sport?"

"Stop! You don't know anything!" Logan yelled.

"I do know Logan. My old man used to beat me and my brother too. I've got healed fractures like hers too."

"Stop!" Logan shouted again pulling out the gun that had been tucked into the waistband of his jeans.

"You wanted answers, we're giving you answers." Booth replied.

Logan remained silent this time. He quickly turned, making a hasty retreat up the stairs.

"We might have got it right Bones."

"About which part?"

"Logan and the girl, they related?"

"From their skeletal structure, I don't think so."

"But Logan cared about her. That I'm sure. And the part about the abuse, I'm pretty sure we got that right too."

Brennan squeezed Booth's hand. "You didn't have bring up your father."

Booth squeezed back, thanking her for her concern. "As long as it helps get us out of here."

"How does Jake factor into all this?"

"We'll figure it out Bones. Baby steps. At least we're getting somewhere."

Booth picked up the brown paper bag. Hs stuck his hand into the bag, pulling out a slice of bread. He sniffed at it and his stomach growled loudly in response.

"Smells okay, I think."

"That's just one slice, hardly enough for one adult."

"It'll do for now. We've got water." Booth broke the slice of bread into half. He knew she would object if he offered her the entire slice and decided that arguing with her over it would be a waste of energy. He handed Brennan half and took a bite out of his half. The couple ate in hungry silence, finishing their share of the bread in a mere two bites. They then took turns to drink out of the jug of water.

"I requested for you to be allowed to come with me tomorrow." Brennan said as she leaned against the cold hard wall next to Booth.

"How'd you know they'd want you to go back?"

"Because I have not given them cause of death."

"But you figured it out?"

"I may have."

"Atta girl!" Booth grinned broadly at her.

"I told them that your expertise and experience in the field could give us clues to help us find out how she died."

"Look tomorrow, when we're out there, if we get the chance, we make a run for it."

"They have guns Booth."

"It's our only chance. Who's to say once they've got all the answers they need they won't decide to kill us?"

"You reasoning is sound."

"So whatever I say, you just do okay? No questions asked. We may get just that one shot."

"Okay." Brennan replied grudgingly.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Thank you shout outs: Vmf447, Phyllis, 554Laura, GalaxieGurl, FaithinBones, regbride12 (don't think there'll be another TV couple quite like these two, ever), aadams00 (it will happen but not quite yet), jsboneslover, ZinaR (think you'll see what you hoped for in this chapter), mendenbar, bookwormlady (you might be right there) and other guests. To the guest who wished that this story would have 1000 chapters lol! Thank you. There're more chapters to go but not quite a thousand. Thank you all for your support. Every review means a lot to me.**_

"Any luck on finding that blue van?" Aubrey asked as he strode into Angela's office.

"Yes. Unfortunately, the license plates were stolen."

"That's a dead end."

"No, not necessarily."

With her handheld control pad, Angela pulled up a map on the large screen in her office. "I was able to track the blue van on various traffic cameras throughout the city. With this I should be able to extrapolate and find a general direction as to where it's headed."

"Have you?"

"Not yet. It'll take some time to pull the relevant footage, then write an algorithm to piece together a possible trajectory as to where they might be headed. I know we're running out of time. I'm getting it done as soon as possible."

"At least that's something." Aubrey replied, hopeful that they would be able to find their friends soon. "Call me once you have anything."

…

Booth and Brennan woke to what their bodies had become accustomed to telling them that it was morning. Another new day had dawned on them and they were still being held captive. Booth pushed the negative thoughts aside. He felt as if the half slice of bread didn't get eaten at all as his stomach growled. He took a sip out of the jug of water. Brennan sat up and Booth handed her the jug.

"Drink. We'll need all the energy we can get."

"Whatever caloric replacement the bread gave our bodies is probably expended by now."

"It was better than nothing."

Brennan drank more, then handed the jug back to Booth, who finished the water which wasn't much to begin with.

"Today's the day. You do whatever it is you gotta do but hold back some stuff okay? Don't give away everything."

"I know."

"And remember what I told you, any chance we get. If I say go, you go."

"Booth, I – "

"No." His voice was firm as he held out his hand. "Please Bones. Just listen for once."

"I can't leave you. They'll kill you. They already said so." She pleaded.

"They could be bluffing. Look, I've been in worse situations than this. You do remember that I was a Ranger right? I could kill them with my bare hands if I wanted to. I just need to know you'll be safe. This has gone on for too long. We gotta think of Hank and Christine now."

Conceding that her husband was right, Brennan nodded. She pulled him to her for a hug. She chose to focus her thoughts on their young children.

"Hey," Booth hooked a finger under her chin, gently tilting her face, so that her eyes met his. "I'm not allowed to die. I remember."

She offered him a weak smile.

The sound of the opening of the doors to their prison could be heard and both Brennan and Booth tensed. Jake and Logan soon appeared. Jake once again held out the roll of duct tape.

"You know the drill." He said. "And Agent Booth's coming with us this time."

…

"So I've gone through the traffic footage. We caught a break. The blue van appeared in sufficient footage for me to come up with hopefully some useful information. From the estimated time Brennan and Booth were taken, the van was headed north."

"Able to be more specific?"

Angela called up a grainy photo of said blue van, then pulled up a map alongside it. "From this last image of the van, they could have taken a different number of routes. Traffic cameras are sparse the further out we get from the city. Without more information, I can't narrow it down. I tried to draw up possible scenarios, look for an ideal location they could be headed where Brennan and Booth could be held captive. Even with that, we are left with vast areas of forests, farms, hiking trails… the list goes on. You think the FBI can pull of a search of so many areas? "

"We could try but, it's gonna take a long time. Seems like we hit a dead end." Aubrey concluded.

"Hey guys," Hodgins wheeled himself into Angela's office. "I found something." He gestured for the small tablet that controlled Angela's computer. Angela handed it to him. Hodgins pulled up a photograph onto the screen.

"This plant's gonna help us find them?"

"Hopefully. _Symplocarpus foetidus_ , also known as the skunk cabbage. It's leaves give off a scent that's pretty bad, kinda like a skunk."

"How does that help us find them?" Aubrey asked trying to be patient, knowing that Hodgins needed to explain his findings.

"Traces of it's leaves were found near Booth's truck. Since it's not indigenous to where they live and not readily found in urban areas, it's gotta have been brought there by the kidnappers right? At least, that's what I hope. Transferred there under their shoes. Unfortunately the skunk cabbage's not all that rare. They can be found here, here and here."

Hodgins pulled up the wooded areas onto the map, highlighting them with red circles.

Angela grabbed the tablet from Hodgins. Her fingers worked quickly, linking the information her husband had just provided them with what she had already found. "Based on the last traffic footage of the blue van, we're left with one possible area."

"Great Falls Park? That's a popular hiking route." Aubrey pointed out.

"Not if you know how to avoid the popular trails." Hodgins replied.

"Still that's a lot of ground to cover."

"There's a growth of skunk cabbage right here. Angie can you pull up satellite image?"

"Yeah." A second later the satellite image of the area appeared on her large screen. "Looks secluded enough."

"That's a start." Aubrey said. "I'll get a team out."

…

"Still don't know what killed her?" Jake asked, his foot tapping impatiently on the ground. As promised, their captors had brought the skull along this time and allowed Brennan to position it where it was originally.

"Hey, she needs time. You heard her, she doesn't have her usual equipment." Booth replied angrily. Jake had cut their hands free at Brennan's request to allow them to work together on the remains.

"It's possible she broke her neck. Snapped at the C4 vertebrae. That would have killed her."

"Can you tell how?" Jake asked, moving closer to Brennan as she crouched on the ground, examining the bones.

"Spinal cord injuries can arise from falls, motor vehicle accidents, falling objects, the list is quite extensive."

"I'm pretty sure she didn't get hit by a car here. And if she were in an accident, you'd see it in the bones." Booth said as he stood near her.

"Yes there are no signs of a motor vehicle accident on her remains."

"This is a secluded spot. It's a shallow grave, a body dump." Booth concluded. "Maybe your old man hit her, she fell, broke her neck. Or maybe one of you did it."

"What'd you say?" Jake asked, stepping towards Booth.

"You heard me," Booth replied, taking a step towards Jake. "Your old man, he liked to beat on you right? Or did you like to do that? Someone was treating this poor girl like a punching bag."

Jake stepped towards Booth, not backing down.

"Wait Booth." Brennan rose to her feet, still feeling weak from their lack of food and water. The trek through the woods to where they were took time and while Jake and Logan had water, Booth and Brennan weren't allowed to drink. Brennan felt dizzy and swayed slightly as she stood.

Booth moved to take her hand, steadying her.

"Whoa, what are you guys doing?" Logan asked, pointing his gun at the couple.

"Just helping her up." Booth replied, calmly. He glanced at Brennan, recognising the look on her face. She had figured something out.

"This girl," Brennan stared down at the remains, then back at Jake. "She's your sister."

"What?! How'd you know that?" Jake asked, visibly agitated.

"Seriously guys? You kidnapped the best forensic anthropologist in the world and you didn't know she'd figure all this out?" Booth taunted.

"We just wanna know how she died, is all." Jake growled.

"Well guess you got more than what you bargained for." Booth sneered back, trying to get a rise out of Jake. "What happened huh Jake? Was it you or your old man who liked to beat her up?

"I would never hurt her!"

"She's dead. It's your word against hers."

Jake threw a punch at Booth who staggered back exaggeratedly. He growled as he threw his body forward, tacking Jake to the ground. Behind him he felt Logan try to pull him off Jake.

"Go!" Booth shouted amidst the commotion.

It was her cue to run. Brennan quickly surmised that Booth was creating a diversion. She hesitated for a split second, before turning and running into the woods.

"Get her!" Jake screamed.

Booth felt Logan let go of him and whipped round trying to stop him. Under normal circumstances, Booth might have had a chance, but days of almost no food and water had weakened him significantly. He momentarily lost his balance, falling onto the ground as he missed grabbing Logan's ankles who had run off after Brennan.

Booth felt a sharp kick to his side, and he rolled away, scrambling to his feet. He turned to face Jake who now had a gun pointed at him. Without much thought, Booth threw himself at Jake, grabbing his wrist as they wrestled for control of the gun.

Brennan kept running, aware that there was someone chasing her. She felt light-headed and weak and her lungs burned. Without warning, a loud gunshot pierced the air, coming from the direction of where she had left Booth. Brennan twisted her head to look behind her and tripped on the uneven ground. As she landed, she felt a sharp pain to her right ankle. It was undoubtedly broken or sprained from her fall. She saw Logan, barrelling towards her. Before she could react, Logan was on her, pulling her roughly to her feet. She groaned in pain as she put weight on her injured ankle.

"You shouldn't have done that! Shouldn't have run. Now Jake's mad. He's got a real bad temper. You heard that?! He's probably killed your husband and he's coming here to shoot you!"

A chill ran down Brennan's spine. If Booth was dead it would have been her fault for running. She felt a stab of pain in her heart at the thought of losing Booth.

"You shouldn't have run! Shouldn't have tried to escape. This wasn't supposed to happen, nobody was supposed to die!" Logan ranted on. He pushed Brennan roughly back towards where they had come from.

"Now we gotta go back. You better hope Jake doesn't make us bury your husband's body!"

Despite the burning pain in her ankle, Brennan limped on, wanting to get back to where she had just escaped from quickly. She fought the sinking feeling rising in her, desperately hoping that she wouldn't find Booth dead.

 _ **I apologise in advance if I cause any undue anxiety by leaving everyone on the edge of a cliff.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**topaz270, Phyllis, Lauwy, Victoria, RobinAngelena, GalaxieGurl, Vmf447, jsboneslover, Gailuvspurple (this story has several more chapters to go), ZinaR, 554Laura, wentzer, mendenbar, azm1956, FaithinBones, bookwormlady. Thank you for your reviews and was happy to read even your speculations as to what would happen next. I think most of you after reading so many of my stories were right.**_

 _ **Anyways, thank you again for waiting and it's time to resolve that cliffy I left everyone on.**_

Ignoring the searing pain in her ankle, Brennan hurried as fast as she could back to where she had, moments ago tried to escape from. She hadn't run far and soon was back at the shallow grave where the young girl's remains were. Her heart skipped a beat as she caught a glimpse of Booth lying motionless on the ground. Jake stood hovering over him, gun in hand.

She tried to rush towards Booth but Logan's hand closed round her arm tightly, preventing her from moving forward. She breathed a sigh of relief as Booth groaned, slowly pushing himself up. She could see a steady flow of blood down the side of his face from his hairline.

"I should kill you!" Jake bellowed angrily at Booth.

"C'mon man," Logan hurried spoke. "You said nobody would get hurt."

Jake glared angrily back at Logan, then turned to look at Brennan, then back at Booth. For a moment, Brennan wondered if he was deciding if he should kill the both of them.

Suddenly the faint but unmistakable whirl of helicopter blades in the distance could be heard.

"What the hell?" Jake muttered under his breath.

"We gotta get out of here." Logan said urgently.

"Get up!" Jake growled at Booth.

Booth slowly pushed himself to his feet, one hand holding his head. He glanced at Brennan. "You okay?"

"Yes. You?" She noticed that he seemed weaker than he was that morning and the blood had started to drip down his face, staining his shirt.

"Shut up!" Jake yelled. "Move!" He shoved Booth roughly, causing him to stumble forward. His outstretched hands broke his own fall. Brennan reflexively reached forward to grab Booth, but the moment she touched him, Logan yanked her back.

"No more tricks." Logan said menacingly.

"Move!" Jake shouted as the sound of the helicopter blades grew louder.

Brennan glanced up into the canopy of trees and wondered if that was a random helicopter passing by or someone searching for them. She felt Logan push her forward. Her ankle hurt but she was determined not to let it stop her. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, trying to ignore the pain.

Noticing her limping, Booth asked, "You're hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"Shut up before I decide to put an end to your talking!" Jake snapped.

Booth's head pounded painfully with each beat of his heart. He had tried to wrestle the gun from Jake but he had been too weak. The gun had misfired in the struggle and Jake had managed to gain control of it, bringing its barrel down on his head so hard he thought he would pass out. Their plan to escape had failed and he knew it made their captors more desperate and angry. He also noticed that in their haste, their captors had not bothered to bind their hands. Booth wondered if he should try to make a run for it with Brennan. He watched as she limped slowly in front of him. He knew she would never be able to run far and he was too weak to carry her for a long distance. He pondered their predicament silently in his head.

Overhead, the sound of the helicopter neared. Logan who was leading the way stopped in his tracks, as if remaining motionless would make them invisible. The whirl of the helicopter blades came closer and Booth hoped that they would be spotted despite the canopy of trees. His heart sank as the sound of the helicopter seemed to move away from them again, telling him the pilot had changed course.

Logan's shoulders relaxed visibly.

Behind Booth, Jake commanded, "Keep moving."

The four walked on and Booth could tell Brennan was struggling and in pain as she walked. He wanted to reach out to support her but he felt dizzy himself as his head continued to pound. He moved his hand to swipe the warm blood from his head wound that was trickling down his face.

"Hurry up." Jake commanded impatiently.

"She's hurt, can't you see?" Booth whipped round to glare at Jake, the motion, sending a wave of dizziness through him.

"You're stalling on purpose!" Jake yelled.

"We're not." Brennan said, stopping to address Jake. "I suspect I may have torn a ligament in my ankle. Quite possibly the anterior talofibular ligament."

"Let's just keep moving." Logan said. "It's gonna get dark soon."

The was a tense silence as Jake glared angrily at the other three, then muttered, "Move."

Logan kept walking and Brennan recognised that they were walking back to the bunker they had been kept prisoner for the past five days. She knew they were lucky. Jake could have decided to kill them for attempting to escape, but he didn't. Perhaps they hadn't gotten all the answers they sought. But each step was painful and she limped on, worried about Booth. She knew he had sustained yet another head injury in the span of a few days.

Booth watched as Brennan favored her right foot, hobbling on. He wanted to offer to help her but didn't want to risk Jake shooting either one of them. He wondered what their fate was going to be once they got back to their underground prison. He didn't like their odds.

A decision had to be made. It was either let Jake eventually kill them both or try to make a run for it. He knew that even if Jake didn't kill them once they were back in the bunker, chances were that after their attempted escape, their captors were unlikely to let them both out in the open together like this again. He wasn't one to give up, he would rather die trying. He knew Brennan would too. If they did die, he would want his children to know that their parents did not give up, that they had tried everything in their power to get home to them. He coughed, clearing his throat loudly, the action sending a wave of pain through his neck and head. Ignoring the sensation, he leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees, as if to catch his breath.

Brennan hurried to him, "You okay?"

"Run." Booth whispered. He saw a look of surprise flash across Brennan's face.

"What's wrong now?!" Jake asked as he approached them.

"Go Bones, run!" Booth yelled this time. He turned, throwing a well-aimed punch at Jake's face, causing him to stumble backwards. Booth quickly ducked under Brennan's arm, allowing her to swing her arm across his broad shoulders. He half ran and half carried her as they sprinted into the woods. He half expected himself or Brennan to be shot at any moment as they ran. Booth hoped his strength would not give out. Gritting his teeth, he continued to run. Beside him, he knew Brennan was also in pain, as she tried her best to run and not put too much weight on him.

Movement in the distance caught his well-trained eye. He recognised Aubrey's voice, loud and clear as it pierced the air, "FBI! You're surrounded, don't move!

"Down!" Booth yelled throwing himself and Brennan onto the ground as camouflaged figures emerged from the distance approaching them.

Gunshots rang out and Booth instinctively threw his arm over Brennan trying to shield her.

A pair of black boots soon appeared in front of Booth. "You guys okay?"

Booth looked up and couldn't help but smile. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you Aubrey."

"You look like hell." Aubrey crouched down, helping pull Booth up to sit.

Aubrey then helped Brennan up. She threw her arms round his neck, "Thank you."

"Jake and Logan, the two guys who kidnapped us." Booth pointed to where they had run from. "They shouldn't be far."

"We've got the area surrounded. HRT will get them." Aubrey nodded. He pulled out a canteen of water. "You guys look like you could use some water."

"Thank you." Brennan said, accepting the drink. The adrenaline that had coursed through her body during their escape now gone, she suddenly felt exhausted. It was only then did extreme thirst overcome her. She remembered to drink slowly, taking measured gulps, before handing the canteen to Booth. He drank hungrily from the canteen, finishing every last drop.

"Medevac is on it's way." Aubrey said.

Booth blew out a breath. "It smells real bad here, like a skunk or something just went past."

"Skunk cabbage."

"What?"

"Hodgins…" Aubrey grinned. "Never mind." He concluded his partner was too tired and malnourished to endure a lengthy conversation about the flora in the area. He was just relieved that he had managed to keep his promise to little Christine.

"That chopper we heard was you?"

"Yeah. We spotted you from the air and figured we'd mount a rescue from the ground."

"How'd you find us?" Booth asked.

"A combination of help from Christine, Mrs Duncan and of course Angela and Hodgins. Not to mention luck." Aubrey grinned, again remembering the skunk cabbage.

"Thanks. For coming to get us." Booth returned the smile.

"Christine and Hank?" Brennan asked.

"I've been watching them, with Angela's help. Caroline too. They're at my office now, with Caroline. I'll bring them round to see you once you two have been cleared by a doctor."

"Thank you," She nodded at Aubrey, blinking back tears from her gratitude. She had no doubt that if Jake and Logan had caught up to them before Aubrey had found them, that they would have been killed by Jake. For the first time in five days, Brennan felt a suffocating weight lift from her shoulders. She took Booth's hand in hers, truly grateful that they had survived.

"One of 'em got away." A HRT team member in camouflage gear approached them.

Aubrey stood up as Brennan and Booth looked on. Logan, with his hands cuffed behind his back was being led towards them.

"Where's Jake?" Booth asked.

Logan stared at the ground, remaining silent.

"We'll find him." Booth said with conviction. He couldn't risk Jake being out there and trying to harm them again. "Aubrey you need to send a team out, about a thirty minute hike from here, due east."

"What's there?"

This time Brennan replied. "A set of human remains. I suspect once we figure out her exact identify and cause of death, we'll find out why we were kidnapped. And we'll find Jake."

 _ **The month of September is going to be real busy for me. I'll keep updating this story as much as I can but please bear with me. Rest assured I will see this story through. Things should get less busy after the second week of October and I can't wait to be able to write more again.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Thank you to all who reviewed and thank you for your continued support. Means a lot to me. Vmf447 (thanks for waiting), phyllis, RobinAngelena, kareneb, FaithinBones, GalaxieGurl (perhaps they might), jsboneslover, ZinaR, 554Laura, aadams00, Gailuvspurple, wentzer, yvonnes91 (no need to wait for October for this chapter), bookwormlady, regbride12.**_

With one hand Booth pushed the IV pole and with the other he held on to the back of the hospital gown he had on. He had always wondered why they had to be left open at the back and for now, to him, it was an inconvenience. He didn't want everyone he was walking past getting a view of his behind.

"Mr Booth, you really should get back to bed." A nurse hurried up to him.

"I'm fine. I let you guys stitch up my forehead didn't I? Let you do those scans on my head, hook me up to this IV too. I mean, I feel fine. I just wanna see my wife, that's all."

"Then at the very least let us get you there in a wheelchair."

"I feel fine okay?"

"You had a head injury. You were dehydrated and had almost no food for five days."

"Which is being fixed with the IV. I promise I'll be back to my room once I talk to my wife."

"I assure you, she's doing well."

"I wanna see for myself okay?" Booth argued as he continued walking. "Besides, her room is not that far away."

The nurse was about to argue about a wheelchair but seeing the look of determination on Booth's face, relented.

"Ten minutes, then I'm coming to get you."

"Fine."

As the nurse turned to head back her other duties, Booth let out a breath. He wasn't a hundred percent yet, that he knew, and he was grateful the nurse didn't give him more grief for being out of bed. A wave of dizziness washed over him as he walked but at least he was feeling better than while being held captive.

The short walk to Brennan's room felt like an eternity and finally at the entrance to the room, he saw her asleep on her bed. He had been assured by doctors and nurses that she was in no danger and would make a complete recovery, but he knew he had to see her. See for himself. The helicopter had taken them straight to the hospital and they had been separated, each to receive their respective treatments. That had been hours ago. Although he had the assurance that she was okay, he didn't like that he hadn't gotten to see her since then. Now, seeing with his own eyes, he felt as if he could finally let go of that breath he had been holding.

He slowly stepped into her room, not wanting to wake her. Groaning softly as his sore muscles protested, he lowered himself onto the hard plastic chair by her bedside.

"Mmmm…. Booth?" he heard her mumble as she slowly woke.

"Hey Bones."

Brennan turned her head, blinking her eyes, attempting to free herself from the bonds of sleep. Her brilliant brain quickly assessed the situation, realizing that he was very likely doing something he shouldn't.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your own room resting?"

"Don't do that. You're beginning to sound like the nurse who didn't want me to see you."

"And for good reason. You shouldn't be out of bed."

"I just had to see you." Booth's tone softened and Brennan broke out into a smile. She reached her hand to him and he took it, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. He beamed his charm smile back at her.

"The doctors assured me that scans of your head show no signs of internal bleeding." She blinked back tears. "I was so worried."

"You know me, I got a hard head. Nothing a couple of stitches couldn't fix." Booth pointed to the bandage on his head. "Good thing they didn't have to shave my hair off."

Brennan couldn't help but chuckle. Booth did love his hair.

"And your ribs are merely bruised, not fractured."

"Yeah. Doc said you hurt your ankle really bad." Booth replied, turning the focus of their conversation to her.

"It's not that bad. As least not fractured, but I'll have to wear a brace and keep weight off it for at least four to six weeks. As I suspected there is tearing of the anterior talofibular ligament."

"And we're both were dehydrated but they're fixing that with these." Booth pointed at the IV line running into his arm. Brennan had a matching one too.

"Don't eat too fast. I know how you get when you're hungry. Our bodies need time to adjust back to normal nutrition levels."

"I know. Not like they gave me a whole steak or something." Booth chuckled. "I'll be fine as long as they keep serving that pudding."

"Aubrey said he'll bring the children by tomorrow."

"Yeah. For now they're happy to know Mommy and Daddy are okay. Christine was worried."

"We are very fortunate Aubrey found us in time. I'm almost certain Jake would have killed us if he caught up to us when we attempted to escape a second time."

"I have no doubt. But I knew it was the only chance we got. I took a chance that the chopper we heard was help. I didn't want Hank and Christine to think we didn't do everything we could to get home to them."

Brennan nodded. "Yes, if the worst happened, I would like them to know that their parents did not give up. Aubrey told me Hodgins and Angela were instrumental to locating us."

"The squint squad never fails right?" Booth grinned and Brennan smiled back. "You sure you're okay?"

"I imagine I feel similar to how you're feeling, but you might be in more discomfort since you were the one they gave a beating, more than once in fact."

"Nah, I'm fine."

"We should take a couple of days to recover."

Booth didn't reply immediately but after a moment of silence, spoke. "I'm gonna get myself discharged first thing tomorrow morning. Jake's still out there. We've got Logan in custody but Aubrey said he isn't talking. We need to figure things out. Get Jake."

"He is dangerous but you shouldn't go against medical advice. Your body needs time to heal."

"It's not the first time we've done this. I mean we've got blown up and shot at and we still went right back to work. We just need these IVs to work their magic and it'll take some time to be a hundred percent again but I wanna get back out there. It's not like I'm gonna run a marathon or something, just gonna talk to Logan."

"Then I'll go back to work tomorrow too."

"What? No."

"There shouldn't be an exception, we're partners. I told you before, where you go, I go."

"You should rest Bones."

"And you shouldn't?" Brennan raised her voice and Booth was glad she had her strength back.

"Quiet down or I'll get kicked out of here."

"I merely want you to recover fully Booth." Brennan huffed.

"I know. But you're leg's hurt. I can get around easier than you can for now."

"The lab has been modified for Hodgins' wheelchair. I don't see how I couldn't work from one."

"Look, just hear me out. Aubrey'll bring Hank and Christine by tomorrow. Spend some time with them. They missed us. Then go back to work."

"And you?"

"I told you what I was gonna do. I'll see them tomorrow night back home."

"We're both still recovering, I'll need crutches at home, we might need help… especially with Hank."

"Aubrey's been sleeping in Parker's room. He'll stay a couple more days till we get our strength back."

"That does sound like a good arrangement."

"As long as we keep our fridge filled with food, Aubrey will stay as long as we need him to with no complaints. I kinda miss his beef stew."

Brennan shook her head, smiling.

"So it's settled then, I'll get myself discharged tomorrow, you can stay another day if they want you to. I'll talk to Logan…"

"I would like to get back to the lab."

"Clark still needs to bring the bones back to the lab, get 'em cleaned. I'll make sure he calls you once he's done that and you can advise him. Good enough for you?"

"And you can't do that with Aubrey?"

"My gut's telling me something and it's gotta be me who talks to Logan."

"To find out the reason why they took us without going through the proper channels?"

"Something like that. I mean Aubrey's already tried talking to him and he got nowhere."

At that moment, a nurse arrived with a wheelchair. "Mr Booth, time to get back to your room."

"Right." Booth slowly got up, allowing the residual dizziness to subside. He pressed a kiss to Brennan's forehead. "Sleep tight. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Booth turned to see the nurse smiling at him. "What?!"

He pointed at the wheelchair. "I'm not getting into that."

He deftly manoeuvred himself and the IV pole past the wheelchair and into the hallway, heading back the way he came.

"I apologise for my husband's behaviour." Brennan called out to the nurse who was following behind Booth.

"Bones!"

 _ **A short filler chapter, leading on to the coming chapters as we unravel the mystery to B &B's kidnapping. I'll still try my best to put up a chapter once a week or thereabouts. If not from this story then my other one. Thank you again for your patience and support!**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Thank you list time: Vmf447, RobinAngelena, Phyllis, ZinaR, aadams00, GalaxieGurl (appreciative stares lol yes), FaithinBones, jsboneslover, mendenbar (may or may not be nothing, lol love your explanation as to the hospital gowns), topaz270, regbride12 and guests.**_

 _ **Thank you for your patience in waiting for this chapter.**_

"Mommy!" Brennan heard then saw Christine run into her hospital room. Hank who was in Aubrey's arms squirmed out of his grasp, running as fast as his little feet could carry him towards his mother.

"Mommy!" Hank cried out.

"Shhhh… guys, remember what we talked about in the car? Indoor voice." Aubrey quickly reminded the two eager children.

"Sorry Uncle Aubrey," Christine replied. "I'm sorry Mommy, we missed you."

"As I missed you both." Brennan replied. Aubrey picked Hank up, placing him gently in Brennan's arms, then perched Christine next to her mother on the hospital bed.

Getting himself discharged from the hospital just moments earlier, Booth chose this moment to join his family as he strode in. Unlike the night before he was no longer dressed in his hospital gown but now in a change of clean clothes Aubrey had brought him the day before. Brennan scowled at her husband but not wanting to worry her children, decided not to bring up the issue of his early release from the hospital.

"Hey you two!" Booth crouched down, opening his arms.

"Daddy!" Christine squealed as she jumped off the bed and threw herself into Booth's outstretched arms. The force of the little girl throwing herself into his arms caused him to fall back.

"Hey you okay man?" Aubrey asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Booth slowly got up, trying to mask the dizziness he was experiencing as he stood. Christine clung to her father's hand, as if her life depended on it.

"Daddy!" Hank whined from Brennan's bed.

Booth moved to scoop the boy up into this arms, his arms trembling slightly at his son's weight, before he recovered his balance. He hated that he was still weak. He was never like that before with his children.

Eyeing Booth, Aubrey asked, "You sure you can go home?"

"Yeah. I've signed all the papers saying I got myself discharged against medical advice or whatever."

"You really shouldn't do that."

"Look I don't wanna argue okay Aubrey?"

"Booth, Aubrey's right." Brennan spoke as Booth returned Hank to his mother's side.

"I was scared Daddy." Christine spoke up. "But Uncle Aubrey said he'd find you and Mommy."

"Yeah and I heard you helped." Booth smiled down at Christine who beamed back proudly at him.

"I did."

"Thank you Sweetheart, you did great." Brennan said before turning to Aubrey. "And thank you too, for everything."

"Nothing to it."

"Yeah, thanks man, we owe you. Again."

Booth pressed a kiss to Christine's head, then did the same action to Hank. He leaned down to brush his lips against Brennan's briefly, glad that they were no longer dry and cracked like when they had been while they had been held captive.

"I'm gonna go talk to Angela now. She said she had information for me."

"Promise me if you feel unwell…"

"Bones," Booth held out his hand. "I'm fine. Don't worry. Doc said you can go home tomorrow. I'll come by to take you home you okay? I'm gonna make sure our home is ready for you to get around on crutches."

"I'll help!" Christine smiled excitedly, happy that her parents were home.

"Me too. I'll keep an eye on him, Dr Brennan." Aubrey assured her.

"I'll see you guys later." And with that Booth turned, marching out the hospital room a determined look on his face.

…

In his office, Booth studied the file on his desk. He had just concluded a video call with Angela. She had given him important information he would need before interrogating Logan. He inhaled deeply, tightening the belt round his waist as he stood. Nothing like a few days in captivity with no food and water to help shed a couple of pounds, he thought wirily to himself. The effects of his five-days in captivity without much food or rest had not completely worn off. He still felt as if the room was spinning if he moved his head too quickly and his body still ached, but the almost persistent exhaustion was now replaced by a somewhat bearable tiredness. He straightened his tie, then picked up the file from his desk, ready to get to work.

"Seeley Booth!" Caroline Julian walked into Booth's office. "You sure you should be here?"

"If I got a dollar every time someone asked me that today."

"We're all worried about you. You only got rescued yesterday."

"I'm fine Caroline."

"You sure?"

"I'm not out in the field right? I'm just gonna talk to the guy who took us. Nothing to it."

Caroline sighed, knowing how Booth could be. "I'll be listening."

"I don't expect any less." Booth quirked her his cocky grin.

He strode out of his office and into the interrogation room, a confident swagger in his gait. He pushed open the interrogation room door and stared at Logan who was slumped back in the chair. He sauntered in and slid into the chair opposite Logan. The irony was not lost on him. The captor had now become captive.

"Not so fun being held in a small room is it?"

Logan avoided Booth's eyes, focusing his gaze on the table.

"Logan Lipinski. You wanna tell me where I can find Jake?"

Booth waited but Logan chose to continue remaining silent.

"Look we've already got you on kidnapping charges. You might as well help yourself out. I mean you've got no priors, I could put in a good word for you to the judge."

Logan maintained his silence, not different to how he always had in their initial days being held captive when he had refused to answer any of Booth's questions. Booth thought back to the information on Logan and Jake that Angela had provided him. He folded his arms across his chest, leaning back comfortably in his chair.

"You know, for a moment, when we found out that you and Jake were brothers, I thought Bones… Dr Brennan had gotten it wrong. She told me you two weren't related. But she never gets things wrong, not when it comes to stuff like that. At first, I thought maybe she did make a mistake, cause you guys had starved her and she was low on sleep. But Bones wasn't wrong. Your Mom, she married Jake's Dad when you were four years old. Jake's Dad, Fred Lipinski adopted you and your Mom changed your last name. You guys were not related by blood but Jake's your stepbrother. So I get that you're trying to help out your big brother. You're a good kid Logan, you were good to us and you tried to do the right thing. I could tell."

The last sentence caught Logan's attention, and he made eye contact with Booth.

"Like I said, you got no priors, but your big brother Jake? That's another story. Spent time in juve, tried to set himself straight by joining the police academy but got himself kicked out. He then went on to arson, theft, aggravated assault."

Booth flipped open the file on the table, sliding a photograph towards Logan.

"Rebecca Lipinski. Jake's little sister. Again, Bones got it right. The skeleton in the woods was Jake's sister, your stepsister. Went missing when she was thirteen. That was ten years ago. Your brother Jake was the prime suspect at first. But she was never found and nobody really knew what happened to her until now. So, you wanna tell me why you went to all this trouble to get us to identify her remains?"

Again silence on Logan's part. He turned his head, looking away from Booth and the photograph of Rebecca that was on the table.

Booth glanced over to the one-way mirror. The two people listening next door knew about his past and he had nothing to hide from them. Straightening in his chair, he clasp his hands together, sliding them across the table so that he was closer to Logan.

Softening his tone Booth spoke, "My old man… he was a real piece of work. I don't remember a day when he was sober. He'd drink himself stupid, then take out his frustrations on me and my brother. My mom too, until she left us. Your mom left too. She couldn't take it anymore, just like mine. I bet you've got scars on your body thanks to your old man. Hey I've got them too."

Booth's words got Logan's attention. Booth shrugged his shoulder. "My Dad threw me down the stairs once. Dislocated my shoulder." He waited, allowing the information to sink in. "I know what it was like to be stuck in a house full of violence. To grow up in one. I was scared and angry all the time, but you know what? It's never your fault, no matter what the old man says. Never."

Logan blinked back tears as Booth continued speaking.

"Here's what I think happened. Your stepdad, he beat Rebecca once too hard and ended up killing her. So he hid the body in the woods. You and Jake, being the good big brothers you were wanted to find her. The missing persons' report ten years ago was filed by Jake. You guys loved her. You never stopped lookin' even when the cops stopped. You found a skeleton in the woods and you wanted to make sure it was her. Wanted to prove that it was your Dad who killed her."

Logan kept silent, biting down on his lower lip. Booth waited, hoping for some sort of response, and after some time, sighed.

"You know I'm sick of the sound of my own voice. If you don't wanna talk, fine. You're going away for a long time anyway. I just thought you'd want justice for Rebecca."

Booth stood a little too quickly, feeling a wave of dizziness assault him, he lay his palms on the table leaning forward to catch his balance, hoping Logan didn't catch that.

"Becky." Logan finally spoke, pointing at the photograph of the thirteen year old girl.

Booth slowly sat down again. He relaxed into the chair, folding his arms across his chest.

"Happened like you said. Becky went missing. We wanted to find her. She was our little sister. We knew Dad loved the woods, he took us out there all the time. So we went searching. We couldn't find her. We knew it was Dad. He did it. The cops thought it was Jake cause he was always in trouble. But they couldn't prove it. Mom decided to leave and Dad left not long after. Jake moved out too, to try be a cop like you said, and I ended up in foster care. When I got out of the system, I found out Jake was in prison. When Jake got out, he looked me up. He wanted to keep lookin' for Becky. We knew she was in the woods where Dad loved to go hunting. Then one day, we found her. Or who we thought was her. I wanted to go to the cops but Jake said they'd think it was him, cause it didn't take us long after he got out to find the body. We wanted to be sure, wanted to have proof it was our Dad. Then we saw on the news about what you and Dr Brennan did. The Matterson case. Jake figured Dr Brennan could help give us all we needed to get justice for Becky."

Logan's story pained Booth's heart. He knew his childhood could easily have turned out like any of the Lipinski siblings. Inside he was grateful he didn't. He would always be grateful to Pops for saving him and Jared.

"You shouldn't have gone along with Jake. You had a bright future ahead of you Logan. You were on your way to a graduating college. Why didn't you two just call the cops? With remains like that, the FBI and Jeffersonian would've been called. There was an easier way to get help from Dr Brennan."

"I know. But Jake wouldn't listen. He was sure the cops would still think it was him, 'specially since he has a record."

"Becky's remains are in the lab now. Dental records confirmed it. You guys were right. It was her you found. If it was really your old man like you believe it to be, Dr Brennan and her team would find out. And if it wasn't, they'd find out who did it and what exactly happened. They always do. You've done all you can to help Becky. Now you gotta help Jake. Do you know where he'll go? He's not at the storm bunker you held us. Not at your home address."

"Jake could be anywhere."

"Any favourite hideouts?"

"I hadn't seen Jake in years. I never visited him in prison. I don't know where he would've gone."

His gut told him that Logan was hiding something but Booth knew he had gotten all he could out of Logan for now. He remembered to get up from his seat slowly this time. As he left the interrogation room, he hoped the lab would have more information to help him find Jake. He was still a dangerous criminal and he had to be caught.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Thank you everyone for your reviews. Lauwy (you were right about Caroline), ZinaR (yes hot indeed lol!), aadams00, 554Laura, RobinAngelena (agree), Vmf447 (yeah he doesn't), FaithinBones (I think to Logan, it was about being there for his brother, I'd like to think Booth identifies with it because of Jared), GalaxieGurl (I'm glad I had the time too!), mendenbar, topaz270, jsboneslove, bookwormlady (don't worry, it'll get resolved soon), regbride12.**_

 _ **Don't worry about Booth guys, much as we like to believe he's Superman, he still needs time to heal up.**_

Still feeling the effects of his kidnapping, Booth decided to go home after he had concluded his interrogation of Logan. He knew if he didn't, Caroline would have insisted on driving him home. He also wanted to take some time to spend the rest of the day with his two children. Aubrey got back to the Booth residence in time to prepare a sumptuous feast for Booth and the two children. A feast, Booth knew his wife would not approve of with an abundance of red meat and other artery-clogging foods but after almost a week with just half a slice of bread, he figured it couldn't hurt. After an equally decadent dessert that the children also enjoyed before bed, Booth felt as if he had made up for the five days without food.

"Are you going to be here when I wake up Daddy?" Christine asked, as Booth closed the book he had been reading to Hank and her.

"You betcha Princess." Booth kissed the top of his little girl's head.

"You promise the bad men are not gonna take you away again?"

"I promise." Booth felt a pang of guilt at making Christine worry for him. "And Mommy's going to be home soon too okay?"

"Okay." Christine replied, satisfied that her parents weren't going to disappear again. She closed her eyes. "Goodnight Daddy."

"Goodnight Sweetheart. I love you."

Booth slowly slipped out of Christine's bed and gathered a sleeping Hank into his arms. He felt heartened to know that his arms no longer trembled as he held his son close to him. Surely he was regaining his strength. With one hand, he pulled the covers up over Christine, then turned on her night light before leaving her room, making sure to leave her room door ajar.

He walked across to Hank's room, placing the little boy on his bed. Similar to what he did with Christine, he pulled the covers up over Hank and placed a kiss to the boy's forehead. He made his way back to his bedroom, placing a phone call to Brennan. They spoke for a short while, as he made sure she was okay and updated her on the case. He was glad to hear that Angela had dropped by to visit and that she was feeling better. After ending the call to Brennan, he made his way to join Aubrey in the family room.

The day almost over, Booth began to feel his eyelids grow heavy as he relaxed on the couch, his feet on the coffee table, as he half-watched the game on tv. He had been advised to avoid alcohol by his doctors and that was advice Aubrey had made sure he followed.

"I didn't know you stocked up the freezer with so many flavors of ice cream." Booth said to Aubrey who was on the couch next to him watching the game with a bottle of cold beer in hand.

"Kids missed Mommy and Daddy. Dessert was one of my ways of distracting them."

"Can't thank you enough."

"For the dinner, stocking the freezer with ice cream or saving your ass?"

Booth chuckled. "How about all of the above?"

"You know I'm terribly fond of those two kids right? They're like my own niece and nephew."

"They love you too Aubrey. They trusted you and knew they were safe as long as you were here."

Aubrey shrugged, slightly embarrassed. "I hated to think they'd have to grow up without you and Dr Brennan."

"They're lucky to have their Uncle Aubrey."

"Look don't yell at me but maybe you should leave the rest of the case to me? I'll track down Jake and Fred Lipinski. Bring them in."

"I'm going to see this though."

"That's nuts, you're still recovering."

"I'll be fine."

"You don't seem fine. And don't think I didn't notice."

"What are you Bones now?"

"Hey I promised her."

"I had a concussion okay? And I didn't get enough to eat or drink for five days. I just need time to get back to a hundred percent."

"And that's exactly why you shouldn't be chasing down a wanted criminal."

"I'll be good as new in a couple of days all right? Quit your worrying Grandpa."

Aubrey sighed rising from the couch. "I don't even know why I try. I'm gonna fix myself a bedtime snack. Want some?"

Booth felt as if he could eat, but figured what he needed more was rest. "Nah. I'm gonna get some sleep."

"Suit yourself."

"Hey Aubrey." Booth called after his friend who had made his way to the kitchen. He could be a pain, but he appreciated the younger man's concern. "Thanks."

…

"Hey Bones." Booth greeted her as he strode into the bone room. She was seated at the light table, examining the very same set of remains she had studied in the woods.

"Hi Booth." She smiled as he entered and the couple shared a quick kiss. In the past, Brennan's office had been a place where they enjoyed quiet moments together, some more affectionate than others, especially when the work day was over with less people in the lab. Kissing wasn't something they did often in the bone room in the middle of the day, but after their narrow escape, both had felt the need for more frequent shows of affection. Brennan had been discharged that morning as planned, one day after Booth. She had refused to go home but had insisted Booth drop her straight at the lab. Booth had grudgingly agreed then went back to the Hoover. He had spent the morning going over Becky's old case files and after lunch decided he should pay his wife a visit at the lab.

"You did have something to eat right?"

"Yes, Angela brought me a lunch from the diner."

Noticing Booth's look, she added, "It was a tofu omelette. I am mindful that I need to replace the caloric deficit my body had suffered."

"How's the ankle?"

"Not hurting too badly. Besides, I'm sitting most of the time."

Satisfied that she was okay, Booth nodded at Becky Lipinski's remains. "Anything?"

"Cam had already confirmed identity with dental records as you already know. Many of the injuries corroborate Logan's account of systemic childhood abuse."

"So back in the woods, you said she broke her neck. That cause of death?"

"Yes."

"But there's no way we can tie it back to her father?"

"It would be difficult to."

Booth sighed. He had hoped to help the young girl find justice.

"We do know someone threw her down what was probably a flight of stairs."

"Yeah… they like to do that."

Noticing the distant look in Booth's eyes, Brennan snapped off her gloves, slipping her hand into his. She squeezed his hand, "I'm glad that you didn't end up like her when your Dad did that to you."

"Me too." Choosing not to focus on his past, Booth shifted his thoughts to the present. "Could it have been Logan or Jake?"

"Fourteen-year-old Logan was too slight to pick her up and do so, though Jake who was eighteen at the time had the strength to do so."

"Yeah doesn't make sense though. If it were Jake."

"You're right. From what you've told me about why they took us, it seems very unlikely that Jake did it. I could have Angela run a scenario to postulate the height of the person who threw her. That would conclusively rule out Jake."

"That was what the brothers wanted. To prove it wasn't Jake so the real killer could be caught. They're convinced it was their Dad."

"Any luck in tracking him down?"

"Not yet. Aubrey's still looking."

"The area where Becky's remains were found is very remote. One would have to have extensive knowledge of the area coupled with basic forensic knowledge in order to have located her remains after so this many years. Jake couldn't have learnt it from his short stint at the police academy. They had to be extremely fortunate to have chanced upon the area to know where to start digging."

Brennan's words triggered something in Booth's mind. "Bones… I think, maybe we've got it wrong."

"No I didn't get anything wrong. That I'm certain."

"No not you, me. My gut was telling me something Logan said didn't add up. You're right there was no way they'd know where to start digging."

"You're saying Jake did kill Becky?"

"Not Jake."

"Logan?"

"Get Angela to run that scenario on her computer. The one you were talking about. Text me once you know."

"Okay."

"Look, I can't be sure but I'll tell you once I am." And with that, Booth hurried out of the lab. For once, Brennan was the one left standing in the lab, wondering what someone else had figured out.

…

"You lied to me Logan." Booth said as he took the seat opposite Logan, the scene almost identical to the day before when Booth interrogated him, only this time Aubrey was in the room with them. Booth knew from what Brennan had told him that Logan couldn't have been the killer. A text from Brennan had informed him that Angela had confirmed that neither Jake nor Logan could have threw her down the stairs. He would use that piece of information to his advantage.

"I know you're not gonna talk, so I'm gonna do the talking for you. We know that Becky died when someone threw her down a flight of stairs, breaking her neck in the fall. The lab has proven that Jake couldn't have been the one. It could have been you, or your stepfather, Fred. But I think it was you. You knew all along where Becky's body had been buried."

Logan sat up, eyes wide, staring straight at Booth who was still speaking.

"That forest is huge. You'd have to know exactly where to dig before you'd find her. You and Jake, you had no training in forensics. I looked at Becky's old case files. You were the one who gave a statement telling the cops that she was last seen in school the day she went missing. What didn't add up was that nobody else remembers seeing Becky at school that day. So you were deliberately trying to throw the cops off."

"No!" Logan cried, slamming his palms on the table. "No! I didn't kill her!"

"It had to be you, you knew where to find her body. Bones said that even for someone with training, it would take some time to find the remains. But you said yourself that you found the body not long after Jake got out on parole."

"It wasn't me!" Logan insisted.

"Then how'd you know where to look?" Aubrey asked, finally speaking.

"I didn't kill Becky all right? It was my stepdad. I helped him bury her, but I didn't kill her."

The tears streamed down his face as he spoke.

"It was late one night. Mom was at work and Jake was out somewhere getting drunk or high or whatever. I was in my room. Dad was yelling at Becky for burning his dinner. Then I heard a sound like something falling down the stairs. Next thing I know, Dad's in my room. I went out and I saw Becky just lying there at the bottom of the stairs. He made me help him. Made me dig this hole and he put Becky in it. Said he'd kill me and Mom if I ever told anyone."

"I never told anyone," he sobbed. "But it's the truth, I swear!"

Booth bit his lip. His anger at Fred Lipinski grew. "I believe you Logan."

Logan stopped crying, composing himself. "I didn't want them to think Jake did it, I wanted to tell the cops but I was so scared."

"You were right to be scared. You were only fourteen."

"I loved her. I loved my little sister."

"I know." Booth said gently.

"We never meant to hurt you and Dr Brennan. We'd watched you for a couple of days. Jake said we'd just grab you both, get Dr Brennan to help prove it was Becky we found, then find out who killed her. I went along because I couldn't let him know I knew. He'd hate me! I just wanted our Dad to pay for what he did. Jake promised no one would get hurt. He said we'd have to take you too cause if we didn't you'd find us really quickly."

"I understand why you went along with Jake." Booth said, his mind reflexively thinking of Jared and what he did for his younger brother.

"Jake's got a temper. He always had. I tried to make him keep a lid on it. But he hit you and almost killed you. He promised me the gun was just to scare you and stop you from trying to escape."

Booth didn't need Logan to remind him of how Jake had assaulted him. His ribs and wound on his forehead still reminded him of the fact. "I know you tried your best to make sure Jake didn't hurt us."

"Jake can't know that I'd lied to him all these years! You gotta promise me he can't know."

Aubrey quickly replied. "You didn't mean to lie to him. Like Agent Booth said, you were just a kid. It's not your fault. Jake won't hold it against you."

"I don't think anyone would doubt you loved your sister, especially Jake." Booth added. "And I know you love Jake too. He's your big brother right? Now do the right thing and tell us where to find him. It's better for him this way."

Logan hesitated, deep in thought. Then he spoke, "Jake has a girlfriend. He's probably hiding out at her place."


	13. Chapter 13

_**Thank you all for your reviews. 554Laura, RobinAngelena, GalaxieGurl (thank you for your kind words, and yes, one can never have too much ice cream in the freezer!), Vmf447 (I'm a big fan of Aubrey), Lauwy (thanks, that is what I try hard to do since I miss the show so much, so it means a lot you feel that it does), FaithinBones (yes it is), ZinaR (not the last chapter yet), mendenbar (no don't think there'll be more surprises), aadams00.**_

 _ **Thank you for sticking with the story. It's not the end yet, but we're almost there.**_

"You sure this is the place?" Booth asked as he stepped out of his SUV. Opening the trunk, he retrieved a bullet-proof vest, tossed it to Aubrey before pulling his own over his head. Tugging on the straps of the vest round his chest to tighten it, he winced slightly at the pressure round his bruised ribs. He stared up to the apartment block ahead.

"Yeah." Aubrey who was adjusting his own gear, replied. "You sure you should be here?"

"I'm sure." Booth reached into the trunk to grab his assault rifle, then hand Aubrey his.

"And Dr Brennan's okay with this?"

"Not really, but I convinced her I had to. Plus, I don't intend to get hurt today."

"You and me both."

Booth checked his rifle, making sure the safety was still on. "HRT set up the perimeter?"

"Yup. Just like you wanted it."

"Jake can't escape."

"He won't. The roof, all stairwells and any other possible exit routes are covered."

Booth hated doing this in broad daylight in an apartment that was likely filled with other occupants. He knew he didn't have a choice and he had planned the entire operation trying to ensure no one would be caught in the crossfire. He also knew he had to get Jake's girlfriend out of the apartment first, least Jake used her as a hostage.

"And we've evacuated the apartments closest to Jake's girlfriend's, just like you wanted." Aubrey added. He bit his lower lip before deciding to continue. "I know you're gonna yell at me, but I think you should sit this one out. You sure you're cleared for field work? I don't recall you going back to your doctor."

"I'm not gonna yell at you, but I'm gonna see this through."

Aubrey sighed, recognizing the determination in Booth's voice. He knew it would be useless to argue. "Let's do this then."

Booth nodded. Together both Agents entered the building, swiftly passing HRT members and other FBI Agents in the lift lobby. The apartment was on the fifth floor. In order to avoid attracting attention, the other Agents were fanned out, leaving only Booth, Aubrey and HRT member Agent Choi to approach the apartment.

As planned, Agent Choi knocked on the door, while Booth and Aubrey flanked him on either side, hidden from sight.

"Who is it?" A female voice answered.

"There was a report of a gas leak. I'm here to make sure it's safe in your apartment Ma'am." Agent Choi who was disguised as a city worker replied.

The door opened a fraction, just enough for the apartment's occupant to peek out.

"Nobody told me there was a gas leak." The woman whom they assumed was Jake's girlfriend, Cheryl replied.

"We didn't want to cause panic. We think it's from one of the apartments on this floor. If you could just step outside while I check? It'll only take a minute. I just need to check the kitchen."

There was a pause.

"It's for your safety and that of your neighbours. I've already checked the apartment next to yours." Agent Choi continued.

Cheryl opened the door wider, stepping out into the hallway to allow Agent Choi in. Booth immediately wrapped his arms round her, closing his hand round her mouth, stopping her from crying out.

As planned, Booth immediately handed her to Agent Choi and another two Agents who had been waiting down the hall. The three Agents whisked her away so quickly and silently she didn't have a chance to react. Booth ignored the dull ache in his chest as he nodded to Aubrey. They entered the apartment in one well-rehearsed movement, both moving in sync as if part of one organism.

They swept the living room and kitchen quickly and silently, ascertaining that Jake wasn't here. Booth pointed with two fingers towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms. He led the way with Aubrey close behind. As they entered the narrow hallway, Jake emerged from the bedroom furthest from them. There was a split second where Jake had a look of surprise on his face as if wondering why there were two men in the apartment.

"FBI!" Aubrey shouted.

Jake dived back into the room, slamming the door shut. Booth and Aubrey ran forward after him. Just as Booth was about to kick the door down, bullets started flying through the wooden door.

Both Agents dived to the ground in time.

"You okay?" Booth asked.

"I'll be once you get off me." Aubrey grunted as they crawled towards the living room as a hail of bullets continued to fly over their heads. Both Agents sat up, their backs against the wall.

"He'll be out of ammo soon."

"You hope." Aubrey said. "Thought you said he only had a pistol."

"That's what I thought."

"So what now?"

"Cover me." Booth crouched down slinking along the wall towards the room as Aubrey fired back at the door, providing the cover his partner needed. Booth was about to reach the door when gunfire stopped. He turned as Aubrey scurried towards him and both Agents burst through the bullet-ridden door their rifles at the ready. The room was empty and the open window gave them a clue as to where Jake might had gone.

Booth rushed to the window, sticking his head out to check the fire escape. Glancing down then up he yelled, "He's headed up!"

Without second thought, Booth climbed out the window, giving chase. Aubrey ran out the apartment intending to head to the stairs leading up to the roof in hopes of cornering Jake. Two members of the HRT accompanied Aubrey up. He knew there were also Agents on the roof and was comforted by the knowledge that Booth would not be alone should he get to Jake first.

Booth with his rifle slung over his shoulder climbed up the steps of the fire escape after Jake. Jake who was now aware that he was being chased, attempted to climb faster. Booth picked up the pace as well. He was normally very fit and didn't usually tire when chasing down a suspect but this time, he found that he was out of breath faster than he usually would be. A gunshot rang out, causing him to duck. Cursing under his breath, Booth knew he had to return fire. He aimed his rifle at Jake who was continuing his climb upwards. Booth aimed not to kill, simply to wound and hopefully stop Jake's attempted escape. Being out of breath and slightly shaky on his feet, Booth took some time to take aim and pull the trigger. He saw Jake stumble but couldn't be sure if he had hit him. Jake disappeared from view as he reached the rooftop and Booth scrambled to keep up.

When Booth got to the rooftop Jake was standing near the ledge, as if contemplating a way down. Booth raised his rifle, pointing it in Jake's direction.

"You sure that's a good idea? It's a long way down."

Jake whipped round to face Booth, one hand clutching his side and the other still holding his gun that was pointed to the ground. Blood oozed out between Jake's fingers that was pressed to his side. It was then that Booth realised he had hit Jake when he shot at him moments ago. He knew that if Jake raised his arm that was holding the gun, he would have no choice but to kill him. Out of the corner of his eye, Booth spotted two other Agents approaching.

"Stand down guys." Booth commanded. The two Agents moved backwards slowly, still providing Booth with cover. He returned his attention to Jake.

"Don't. There's always another way." Booth kept an eye on Jake's hand, and a finger on the trigger of his rifle.

"I'm not going back to prison." Jake's voice trembled with desperation and anger.

Booth spied Aubrey and the other two HRT members, slowly coming up to the other side of Jake. He worried that Jake, feeling cornered would act rashly.

"Dr Brennan's positively identified Becky's remains." He wanted to keep Jake's attention on him. "You found her Jake."

"So that was really Becky, out there in the woods?"

"Yeah. You and Logan did it. You found your little sister."

"But you'll still think I did it."

"No, I don't. And the lab, they've already proved that you didn't kill Becky."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

There was a moment's pause, and Booth watched as Jake's hand that was holding the gun seemed to slowly move.

"Don't. Don't go out like this."

Regardless of how Jake had treated him when he was held captive, Booth hoped he would not have to end Jake's life.

"If you chose to let me end your life, your old man wins."

Jake blinked at the mention of his father.

"Logan told me everything. About how he treated you guys. It was him, and Dr Brennan will prove that he did it. Then I'll go find your Dad and arrest him. You and Logan would have helped find justice for Becky. That's what you wanted right?"

Jake froze as if considering Booth's words. But before he could reach a decision, Aubrey was already there, tackling Jake to the ground. The gun in Jake's hand clattered to the ground as Jake fell and one of the HRT Agents kicked the gun away while the other helped to handcuff Jake.

Booth released a breath, grateful that he did not have to take a life that day. He lowered his rifle, suddenly exhausted, he took a step back.

"You okay Booth?" Aubrey asked as he approached.

"Yeah." Booth breathed. "I'm fine. A little winded, that's all."

"You sure you didn't hurt your ribs doing all that climbing?"

"Oh so you're Bones now huh?" Booth asked annoyed.

"You know she'll ask."

Booth nodded at Jake being led away. "He needs the doctor more than me."

"Bullet grazed him. He'll live."

"Not a bad day's work. Nobody got hurt."

"Yup. Nobody got hurt, just like you wanted."

Booth reached into his pants pocket for the keys to the SUV. He tossed them to Aubrey. "You're driving. I gotta call Bones."

 _ **Would definitely appreciate a review on your way out.**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Thank you to everyone who has been following this story. It's been dragged out longer than intended as real life interfered with my posting schedule. But I really appreciate each and every review. Thank yous to: Mrs. Derek Hank Morgan, 554Laura (thank you, I try to write with that in mind too, picturing it as an episode), mendenbar (don't worry, Booth didn't do any permanent damage), topaz270 (yeah she might), Vmf447, Robinangelena, FaithinBones (yes considering how much Booth hates to have to kill someone), Lauwy, MstgSzy, loverofbones, aadams00, regbride12, ZinaR.**_

Brennan waited anxiously in her office. She tried to distract herself with the article she was reviewing for the Journal of Forensic Sciences but she found herself unable to concentrate. Every now and then she glanced at her phone. Booth had insisted on leading the operation to arrest Jake and there was no talking him out of it. She hoped he wouldn't get more seriously hurt. She sighed knowing that this was something unavoidable given her husband's occupation. It was something she would have to contend with for the rest of their lives. It had been an agonising number of hours since she had spoken to him, and finally her phone rang. She was relieved to see that it was him.

"Booth." She answered her phone quickly.

"Hey Bones."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, we got him. We got Jake. I shot him and they're taking him to the hospital, but he'll live."

"And you? You should go get checked too."

"I'm fine Bones."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. You can give me a very detailed check all over tonight." Booth's voice took on a playful tone.

"Seriously guys, you know I can hear this conversation right?" Brennan heard Aubrey in the background.

Brennan laughed, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"I'll do that." She replied.

"Look Bones, I love you. I'm sorry you had to worry. I'll see you later okay?"

"Okay. I love you too Booth."

As Brennan hung up she could hear Aubrey complaining in the background.

…

It had been a month since Jake's arrest. After his heroics in the arrest of Jake, his physician had put him on mandatory rest at home for a week. Not that he hated it much, it gave him time alone with his wife by now, too seemed to have recovered from their ordeal. He had dreaded the day but he knew it was something he had to do. And so there he was sitting in the tiny interview room in the prison. There were no windows save for the small one at the door. The cold concrete walls made him feel claustrophobic. Booth still hated prisons. He still remembered what it was like to be an inmate. The ticking of his watch felt louder than usual and he felt as if the walls were closing in on him.

The steel door opened with a loud creaking sound, causing Booth to jump slightly. The prison warden led a handcuffed Logan Lipinski in. Logan looked surprised as he took the seat opposite Booth.

The warden closed the door, leaving Booth and Logan alone. As the locked turned, Booth took a deep calming breath.

"I didn't expect you to be visiting me." Logan said.

"Yeah I just thought you'd like to know that we found your Stepfather Fred."

"You did?"

"He's not the man you remember him to be anymore. All those years of drinking, he's a shell of a man now. He was living alone. Just an angry, old, depressed man."

"Can't say I'm sad to hear that."

Booth nodded. "Just thought you'd like to know that he confessed. Told us everything. Happened just like you told me. It was as if it was a relief to him, getting caught."

Logan looked surprised. "Didn't think he would confess."

"Guilt's been eating at him all these years. Plus his health is failing."

"Guess Becky can rest in peace now."

"Yeah. Thanks to you and Jake."

"How's Jake?"

"Still in jail. Just like you, waiting on a court date. I kept my promise. I didn't tell him about your part in Becky's disappearance."

Logan nodded gravely. "Thanks."

"I've talked to the DA, asked them for a lighter sentence."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Cause Logan, I understand. If things were different growing up for you, maybe we wouldn't be sitting here right now. If it wasn't for my grandfather…" Booth paused, remembering his Pops. "If it wasn't for him, it could be me sitting where you're sitting now. I'm not saying it was okay for you and Jake to kidnap me and Dr Brennan but I understand."

"What about Jake?"

"Jake's different. Might be safer if he never gets a chance to get out and hurt anyone else again."

"I'd be an old man once I get out of here."

"Yeah but it's not life." Booth stood up. He had did what he had gone there to do and now just wanted to go home. "You take care of yourself in here. Watch your back. I know what it's like."

For the third time, Logan wore a look of genuine surprise.

Booth didn't explain but knocked on the door of the small room. The warden who was standing outside unlocked the door, pulling it open. Booth felt as if he could breathe again. Before he could step out, Logan called to him. "Agent Booth?"

Booth turned to look back at Logan.

"Thanks."

…

As Booth walked in through the front door of his house that evening, his two children greeted him enthusiastically. Booth picked Hank up, swinging him round, as the boy burst out laughing, a sound that Booth would never tire of hearing. Settling Hank in his feet, he proceeded to do the same with Christine.

"Mind you back Booth." Brennan said as he approached his wife who was setting the table for dinner.

"Hey it's been awhile since I've felt a hundred percent and I just wanna enjoy it. How's the leg?"

"Not much different from this morning." Brennan glanced at her right ankle which was still encased in a brace. "It feels liberating not to need to reply on a crutch anymore though."

"Yeah, take it easy for now okay?"

Brennan glanced over at her children who seemed engrossed in their drawing. "How did it go?"

"Logan was surprised." Booth shrugged, "But I think I was doing it as much for him as it was for me. He had it rough. Least I could do to was to let him know that his old man wasn't gonna hurt anyone again. That we caught the guy who murdered his sister."

Brenan smiled warmly at her husband. She knew it hadn't been easy for him. She knew that ever since he had been wrongly imprisoned, Booth disliked going back.

"You're a very good man." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

"I just wanted to put what happened to us behind us you know?"

"I know. And I'm glad it's over."

He glanced at the spread of food on the table. "Smells good. I'm hungry."

"Then we should eat." Brennan called out to her children. "Hank! Christine!"

Both children, also hungry, came willingly at their mother's call.

"Wash your hands first." Brennan reminded.

"C'mon, I'll give you a boost Hank." Booth said as he scooped up their son.

Brennan smiled to herself. Knowing what they did for a living, she knew that normal was likely a rarity. But she was thankful nonetheless that they were back to the way things were. She endeavored to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

 _ **Thanks for sticking with this story. We've come to the end of it. Thank you for your support. I have another story coming right up so stay tuned. Anyways, I'm back to being able to write more now, so happy.**_


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